Georgia is facing a critical doctor shortage, as a generation of physicians prepares to retire just as aging baby boomers and the federal health care law create a surge in demand for medical care.
Knowing a shortage was coming, the state’s medical schools have boosted enrollments by 50 percent over the last decade. But the crisis still looms.
While there are more medical students, there aren’t enough residencies — the final phase of training required to become a full-fledged doctor. The bottleneck in the doctor pipeline persists as medical schools and elected officials struggle to find a way to pay for more residency slots at teaching hospitals across the country.
Georgia faces one of the toughest challenges. Already, most of its new med school graduates are packing their bags and heading out of state for their residencies, unlikely to ever return.
In today's newspaper, the AJC looks at the problem. It's a story you'll only get by picking up a copy of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution or logging on to the paper's iPad app. Subscribe today
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