Physician Workforce

Although the physician shortage is expected to hit 124,000 by 2034, health-professional shortage areas currently need 17,000 physicians to close care gaps, according to an Oct. 27 article from the American Medical Association.

Here are three pieces of good news and three pieces of bad news that female physicians should know:

American Medical Association President Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, spotlighted the growing national physician shortage in a national address Oct. 25.

Newsweek has named its top 600 U.S. hospitals ranked by state, sorted by a score that factors recommendations, patient experience, quality and patient-reported outcome measures. 

Obstetrics and gynecology is the most popular specialty for female physicians, according to Medscape's "Female Physician Compensation Report 2023."

Here are four recent moves addressing the physician shortage that Becker's has reported on since Sept. 11:

The University of Kentucky College of Medicine in Lexington has received a $16 million federal grant to support efforts to ​​increase the number and diversity of primary care physicians across the state.

Nearly 1 in 4 physicians in the United States take side gigs, according to Medscape's 2023 "Physician Side Gigs Report" published Oct. 12.

A new coalition has formed to advocate for policy moves addressing the healthcare workforce shortage.

Female physicians see fewer patients but spend relatively more time working in EHRs, which results in lower productivity, but recent coding changes have helped level the playing field, according to a recent study published in Journal of General Internal Medicine.