Thanks, good article!

"Conservative estimates suggest that Canada needs at least 5000 more doctors in active practise."

Managing physician shortages: We are not doing enough -- Busing 176 (8): 1057 -- Canadian Medical Association Journal

Thanks for posting these links!

1500 only i though it was in the tens of thousands.

I am sure 1500 is an underestimate but I do not think its tens of thousands... a lot of people do not want to take this step

Consider that the average acceptance rate for a Canadian or American medical school runs at below 8%...

Now- Question- is 1500 an indication of the ever-declining number of medical students studying? We're already seeing clear indications that there's a brain drain coming from America...

Seriously- If you want to be a doctor for the money, fer chrissakes, go do business school or something. There's a reason I'm proud to want to be a GP- despite the fact that it's the least popular, lowest-paid specialty around- I get to sodding -help- people. That's what being a doctor should be about.

It's no wonder I support socialized medicine in its entirety.

Brain drain FROM america? First I heard of it. Who are these people and where are they going?

I admire your principles M, but socialized medicine has to die. Who will pay for it all??? Besides, being a doctor is not what it used to be. We're not gods. We're human beings. And these days, it's a service industry no different from any other. Customers (ie. patients) come to see you and demand service. Oh yes, they DAMAND it. If you can't provide the service they seek? They go elsewhere. Or sue you, I suppose. You're right, it shouldn't be about the money. But that's the reality in n.america, Canada included. You want to practice for peanuts and be treated like a God, there are still parts of the world where you can do it. But hurry, it's not going to last much longer. Physicians can no longer afford to live in their glass houses. The average customer is becoming more and more savvy and with the amount of information available at the tips of one's fingers these days, these customers can be more knowledgeable and better educated than most physicians. It's simple: a physician needs to know everything, a patient only cares about what affects him and therefore he can focus his energies on a very narrow area and find out all about it, and keep up with the literature, etc. What can we do?

Look at it in another way. If other specialists (lawyers, pharmacists, programmers, engineers, etc.) can peddle their wares at the "going market rate", why shouldn't doctors be granted the same privilege? What makes us different? As the old adage goes: caveat emptor. You get what you pay for. At least, that's my attitude from the point of view of a patient. From the other side, as a physician, considering how much time, effort, and money one puts into their training, shouldn't one get something in return? If you're helping people, are you not entitled to make at least as much as lawyer, a basketball player, or an actor playing a doctor on tv? Apparently not. Yeah, from an idealist's stand point that sucks major b*lls, doesn't it? But that's reality. I'm by no means saying the american system is any better. It's not. But there are plenty of countries that have combined a social system with some fee-for-services system. Canada's and the US' health care systems are by no means the best in the world. Then again, it all depends on how you measure various outcomes, doesn't it.

Good luck!

And most importantly, stay healthy. More people die in hospitals these days...