We all know that there have been tremendous strides in the practice of medicine in just the past decade; from new medicine to new technology, there’s never been a more exciting time to become a physician. But with that excitement naturally comes uncertainty, especially with the full implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act just months away and further changes to medical education (including the new MCAT in 2015) anticipated for the next several years.
On the June 10 episode of The Pulse, Kaplan Test Prep’s live, online monthly webcast for pre-meds, Owen Farcy, Kaplan Test Prep’s director of MCAT 2015, led a panel of experts in the field of medical education and health care to discuss what aspiring doctors might expect over the next decade as they finish school, enter residencies, and then branch out on their own.
Among the topics discussed were:
-What are medical schools doing now to prepare students for the changed landscape?
-How will the ACA impact the relationship of the physician with other allied health professionals?
-What impact will the insurance changes have on how physicians practice?
What students learn may surprise them. In short: this is not their mom or dad’s medical profession – or even older sibling’s – anymore. For example, one of the biggest concerns that newly graduated doctors are facing right now is the increasingly competitive process to land residencies, also known as the Match. Consider this: medical schools are enrolling and graduating more students in order to combat the growing physician shortage (which will only worsen in the coming years as baby boomer doctors retire, baby boomers age and need more medical attention, and more Americans secure access to healthcare), but the number of residency spots continues to be limited by federal funding constraints.
To learn more about issues like this one, we invite you and your students to view a free recording of this exciting, substantive event:
As always, there was also an active Twitter chat to accompany the event in which attendees tweeted in their questions and opinions on the issue. As you already know from speaking with your own students, pre-meds are not a shy bunch, so the conversation was a robust one! Doctors and patients both always have a lot at stake, and in the next few years particularly so. This broadcast will help your pre-med students stay on solid ground despite the shifting landscape, so that they can make informed decisions about their future careers.
