[accurrent]

My understanding is that in many countries the biggest blocker to increasing number of doctors is the fact that there aren't enough doctors to teach. Unlike CS where we can simply increase the number of seats in. A course with medical school there are real bottlenecks on things like cadavers and mentors.

[m00x]

There aren't enough spots in medical schools. I was a 4.1/4.3 GPA in Canada and I didn't get in med school. My sister got in with a 4.24/4.3 GPA (one single A, all A+).

Doctors in control regularly shut down any attempts at increasing this limit.

[accurrent]

While true, it's also true that scaling medical school is not like a CS situation. My school quadrupled the number of CS seats to meet demands over 4 years. I can't see this happening with medical schools. My brother who is currently in a medical school regularly says how hard it is for the faculty to find teachers simply because there aren't enough. To add to it there are bottlenecks like not having enough cadavers.

Medical education is very hands on unlike engineering where we just throw people in the deep end at work. This is with good reason.

I'm absolutely for having more doctors and medical school seats but I think it's important to acknowledge that it maynot be as simple as increasing seats. There needs to be more fundamental reforms. That being said yes there are completely pricks of doctors who enter politics.

[vasco]

And intelligence combined with ability to deal with people and enough grit, memory and sleep deprivation resistance to pass medical school.

Maybe medical school itself needs to change to make the role easier and split the functions into easier ones that more people can do.

[mattkrause]

Yes!

After I finished grad school (electrophysiology and imaging in large animal models, so seemingly relevant experience), I thought about becoming a clinician. However, I wasn't even eligible to apply to med school because it had been 5 years since I took an introductory biology or physics class (with lab!). It seems I was qualified enough to teach in a medical school but not to be a student.

A faster scientist -> practitioner pathway would be such an obvious win-win: it'd help with the overcrowded academic job market AND relieve clinical shortages, but most of the emphasis seems to be on getting MDs into research instead.

[FireBeyond]

Right. Medical school in other countries is certainly not a walk in the park. But nor is it the hellacious endeavor it can be in the US, especially then as an early resident.

[deepsun]

But reducing the number of admissions is not going to fix it, it will only exacerbate it.

If we increase number of admissions, then long-term doctors should become less overworked. That's a path to fix it.