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Universal Healthcare and Physician Shortages
While the total number of physicians in the US roughly doubled over the past quarter-century, the total number of female physicians grew by 372%--from 54,284 in 1980 to 256,257 in 2006. Meanwhile, the total number of female physicians in patient care increased even more (by 434.5%), to 213,644 physicians, according to American Medical Association data.
As of 2006, approximately 43% of all residents and fellows were females, compared with 21.5% of total residents in 1980. Also, 48% of U.S. medical students were females in 2006, compared to 26.5% in (1980).
However, despite the growing numbers of women in medicine, female physicians have consistently lagged behind their male counterparts in salary and income levels. To some extent, gender disparities in medical practice earnings can be attributed to gender differences in specialty choice, age or experience level, practice characteristics, and lifestyle choice. "However, evidence also suggests that gender bias and discrimination continues to exist in medicine, resulting in career advancement barriers for women," American Medical Association Chairman Edward L. Langston said in an early-2008 report to the AMA Board of Trustees.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau's report, "Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2005," women who work full-time, year-round earn 77% of what men who worked full-time, year-round earned, on average. The median income for women was $31,858, compared to $41,386 for men.
Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) compensation data by practice specialty show female physicians in the specialties staffed by LocumTenens.com faring better than reported for working women in general, as follows:
| Specialty |
Median Male Income |
Median Female Income |
Female Income as % of Male Income |
| Anesthesiology |
$368,929 |
$307,822 |
83% |
| General Surgery |
$318,369 |
$270,048 |
85% |
| Orthopedic Surgery |
$429,067 |
$377,343 |
88% |
| Psychiatry |
$199,929 |
$171,865 |
86% |
| Diagnostic Radiology |
$451,000 |
$375,000 |
83% |
The AMA projects that women will comprise 30 percent of the physician workforce by the year 2010.
As Dr. Langston concluded in his report, "To accommodate this growing number of women physicians, it is important for the medical profession to improve the work environment for women and address the underlying causes of gender-based disparities in the profession."
Universal Healthcare and Physician Shortages
With health care spending skyrocketing, doctors expressing growing dissatisfaction, and roughly 48 million Americans uninsured, presidential politics is prompting considerable discussion about health care reform. But how do physicians feel about some of the possible “fixes” for U.S. health care? And how are physicians faring financially as another Labor Day approaches?
Among 3,116 responses to a recent survey on physician compensation conducted by LocumTenens.com, only 16 percent of providers thought universal healthcare would affect their incomes positively. While 42 percent of respondents predicted no effect on physician salaries from universal health care, another 42 percent predicted a negative effect.
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The History of Locum Tenens*
Who: Therus Kolff, MD, MPH (founder of Comprehensive Healthcare Systems, Inc., now CompHealth) and Alan Kronhaus, MD (founder of Kron Medical) are often called the pioneers of the locum tenens industry,
Where: Kolff and Kronhaus first met at the University of Utah. At the time both were involved with the Health Systems Research Institute (HSRI), a nonprofit organization formed by the Intermountain Regional Medical Program, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the University of Utah.
What: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation provided HSRI with a grant for a demonstration project aimed at helping rural communities draw physicians to their underserved areas. The concept was to provide support services that would make practicing medicine in a rural area more attractive to physicians so they would consider relocating.
HSRI concluded that in order for a physician from a metropolitan area to consider relocating to a rural setting, he had to be assured he would be able to schedule time off for a break once in a while. HRSI's solution was to create a group practice of physicians who were willing to work short-term assignments to cover nearby rural practices when needed.
When: The roots of the Locum Tenens industry began during the 1970s when the grant was given to HSRI.
How: Eventually HRSI gave Kronhaus the latitude to establish a stand-alone service that would provide short-term physician coverage for communities not already receiving coverage from HSRI. The group started with a few physicians who were willing to work short-term internal medicine or family practice assignments periodically through the year in return for having time off in between jobs. Within the year the group was expanding to include other specialties and serve facilities nationwide.
Today: Over the last 30 years many locum tenens staffing companies have entered the market, the majority of them with roots that can be traced back to one of these pioneering health care firms. Today more than 25 companies comprise the $2-billion locum tenens industry, providing temporary physicians to fill short- and long-term gaps in physician coverage for almost every medical specialty.
* "Locum tenens" is a Latin phrase that means "to hold the place of, to substitute for," or in layman's terms: a temporary physician.
The Advantages of Practicing Rural Medicine
Why practice rural medicine?
Most physicians who have practiced medicine in rural areas agree that the pace of rural health care is slower, and that their relationships with patients are better than they are in urban or suburban practice.
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The 411 on Working Locum Tenens
So you're thinking about taking a locum tenens opportunity, and undoubtedly
you've got some questions. Below are some answers to commonly asked questions
by locum tenens providers:
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In a decade when it seems the news media report a physician shortage in another U.S. community or medical specialty weekly, physicians report increasing frustration with practicing medicine in today's healthcare marketplace.
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