'Nobody wants to come': What if the U.S. can no longer attract immigrant doctors

Re:'Nobody wants to come': What if the U.S. can no longer at... by alistairSH on Monday November 24, 2025 @09:19AM (#46034382)

The AMA pushed for limited residency slots ~20 years ago, as they feared too many doctors would cut their own incomes.

For some reason, residencies are paid by the federal government. Not sure of the history there - I find it hard to believe a resident doctor is a net-loss for the hospital system. Either way, I can't find any legal cap on number of residents - only a cap on funded slots (ie, a hospital could hire more residents and pay them out of pocket).

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Re:'Nobody wants to come': What if the U.S. can no longer at... by paleotrope on Monday November 24, 2025 @12:35PM (#46036682)

The residency system itself is a relic and represents a sort of trapped labor system.

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Re:'Nobody wants to come': What if the U.S. can no longer at... by alistairSH on Monday November 24, 2025 @01:58PM (#46037729)

That might be true, but at the same time, do we really want doctors who haven't completed some form of apprenticeship? The hours/shift were sliced in 2003 and again in 2011. Though they're still much higher than what's normal in the EU.

What I can't quite figure out is patient outcomes... morbidity appears to have increased (very slightly) as resident working hours were reduced (possibly more risk from handoffs than tired MDs?) - how does the EU compare in this regard? Somebody must have done a study...

Anyway, some form of on-the-job training seems reasonable here. But the current residency system in the US definitely appears broken, for several reasons.

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