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Martin-J. Sepulveda, Thomas Bodenheimer, and Paul Grundy Primary Care: Can It Solve Employers’ Health Care Dilemma? Health Affairs, January/February 2008; 27(1): 151-158. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] [Reprints & Permissions]

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Primary Care Also Hurting From The Culture Of Medicine

Arkaprava Deb   ( 12 March 2008 )

Primary Care Also Hurting From The Culture Of Medicine 12 March 2008
Arkaprava Deb, Student - Dual Degree MD-MPA New York University School of Medicine and New York University Wagner School of Public Service Send letter to journal: Re: Primary Care Also Hurting From The Culture Of Medicine arka.deb{at}med.nyu.edu Arkaprava Deb	The authors make an important point in stating that medical students' choices are biased against primary care for financial reasons and work-lifestyle reasons. I would also add that primary care is losing prospective doctors because of the culture of the medical field, at least as I have been exposed to it in New York City. I came to school to be a primary care physician, aspiring for the National Health Service Corps one day. These goals have been difficult to maintain because of the opinions I have heard since my first semester of medical school. When I would have conversations about the future and entering the National Health Service Corps, I would hear comments such as, "That's good. Sometimes you just have to do something easy," and "The good news is that your field is not competitive." I also had one faculty member state, as an aside, "Primary care docs are important, even though they're not the sharpest knives in the drawer." I know that none of these people meant to be disparaging, but their comments stayed with me and had an alienating effect since I made the commitment to medical school specifically to enter the field of primary care. As the authors suggest, the private sector and the federal government both have incentives to make primary care a more lucrative field for medical students and young doctors. At the same time, both the private and public sectors would do well to somehow restore the status and dignity of the field as well. Otherwise, medical students going into primary care may continue to face a social-professional status pressure to abandon this important field.