Although aspiring physicians face unique challenges today, claims they represent an existential crisis to the profession are overblown, says Thomas W. Feeley, M.D., head of the Institute for Cancer Care Innovation at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, in NEJM Catalyst.
There’s a lot of negativity heard among the physician community, including reports from FiercePracticemanagement of doctors declaring themselves ready to quit the profession over healthcare reform. Add that sentiment to calls to change the way doctors are trained in response to the ongoing physician shortage and it’s easy to imagine medicine is in deep trouble, according to Feeley. Nevertheless, he believes the challenges can and will be met because it’s in doctors’ nature to rise to a challenge.
Feeley agrees that the biggest challenges facing young physicians revolve around the inefficiencies in our current system of care delivery. Specifically, he says, the cost of care outstrips the quality of outcomes, which in turn strengthens demand for value-based care. As enormous as that change has been and continues to be for the industry, Feeley points out that doctors have always faced adversity, from those dealing with unknown diseases to surgeons working with the more rudimentary technologies of previous eras.
He points out the variety of opportunities awaiting aspiring doctors throughout the clinical and administrative spectrum, whether they wish to focus on technological advancement or on building close relationships with patients. According to Feeley, the key to solving the physician shortage lies in moving beyond the traditional model of “the eminent physician,” instead embracing a more team-based model in which appropriate delegation of tasks keeps everyone engaged without burning out.
If asked whether he would do it all again after his 50 years in practice, Feeley is resolute. “I have never had a day in which I did not look forward to going to work and facing the challenges of the day,” he writes.
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