False dichotomy.
Right now the ACGME limits the number of residents. This causes a lower supply, so instead of having 6 surgeons working on you, you have 1-3. Do you only want a few people fresh from residency working on you? Or a bunch of physicians with various experience?
Also, plot twist, we own a medical company. (not physicians, but a different cartel that is paid way less and got a pay cut since 2016) You can treat 7 people per 37 minutes, each paying between $40-$125. Physicians is way worse, you can charge $250 for 5-10 minutes.
(Note that this ignores documentation costs/times, but it should give you an order of magnitude to play with.)
We don't do that blatant 7 people per 37 minutes, its more like 1 person per every 60 minutes, but as the clinic grows we've had 2 people per 60 minutes out of necessity. The hospital/other clinics do this.
I need to do an AMA on owning a medical clinic. My wife, the primary doctor, isnt exactly happy that I bite the hand that feeds. We already lost our chiropractor referrals because I couldn't handle their mysticism and spoke out against it.
However, the human body is much more complicated. Would you trust the life of a loved one who, God forbid, has cancer or needs surgery to a person with a fraction of the education and training physicians receive?
By the way, I’m reminded of a joke: a doctor called a plumber for a faucet leak. The plumber fixed it in 5 minutes and charged $175. The doctor said “how can you charge that much for 5 minutes of work? I spend a whole hour with a patient and charge less!” The plumber said “that’s exactly what I used to say when I was a doctor.”