650. The Doctor Won’t See You Now

The U.S. has a physician shortage, created in part by a century-old reform that shut down bad medical schools. But why haven’t we filled the gap? Why are some physicians so unhappy? And which is worse: a bad doctor or no doctor at all? SOURCES: Karen Clay , professor of economics and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University. Rochelle Walensky , physician-scientist and former director of the CDC. RESOURCES: " Medical School Closures, Market Adjustment, and Mortality in the Flexner Report Era ," by Karen Clay, Grant Miller, Margarita Portnykh, and Ethan Schmick (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2025). " Application Overload — A Call to Reduce the Burden of Applying to Medical School ," by Rochelle Walensky and Loren Walensky (New England Journal of Medicine, 2025). " Challenges to the Future of a Robust Physician Workforce in the United States ," by Rochelle Walensky and Nicole McCann (New England Journal of Medicine, 2025). " The first step to addressing the physician shortage ," by Rochelle Walensky and Nicole McCann (STAT, 2025). " Physician Workforce: Projections, 2022-2037 ," (National Center for Health Workforce Analysis, 2024). “ Projected Estimates of African American…