Abstract
This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Medical schools are responsible for producing the future medical workforce that is fit for purpose to meet the needs of patients. The burden of care largely falls upon primary care, a specialty which has been under-doctored, under-resourced, culturally not valued, and whose status has been subordinate to secondary care. In addition, the demographic changes of increasing longevity and chronic diseases, have increased the demand for healthcare at a time when governments' finances are stretched more than ever. The poor state of recruitment to the primary care workforce is a global phenomenon as evidenced by similar issues in North America, UK and the Middle East including Turkey. This contradicts the fact that the strength of primary care has a direct effect on the health of the nation. This paper presents an international perspective of why primary care is important, the reasons why new graduates shy away from a career in primary care, and what steps medical schools, residency programmes and governments should undertake to encourage medical students to make primary care a preferred career choice.
Highlights
The healthcare needs of people are evolving all the time, and rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic
This paper presents an international perspective of why primary care is important, the reasons why new graduates shy away from a career in primary care, and what steps medical schools, residency programmes and governments should undertake to encourage medical students to make primary care a preferred career choice
The task of dealing with these demands falls largely to primary care workers who are in the front line of healthcare for patients residing in the community
Summary
The healthcare needs of people are evolving all the time, and rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and USA medical schools in their report (2020) have recognized this potential workforce crisis and have committed to increasing the number of graduating medical students by 15 to 30% and aim to have 25% of medical school output enter family medicine by 2030 This led to a serious rethink in American public health policy. Turkey has grown its primary care workforce (Tanriover et al, 2014) and, according to 2016 data, Turkey has 86,332 doctors and of which 37,173 (43%) are general practitioners and 8615 in a residency program (Turkish Health Ministry Reports, 2016) This steady increase is still inadequate for a population of approximately 73 million (Öcek et al, 2014). Implementation of these action points will help to create a culture in which general practice is valued and attractive to new doctors
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
