"I completely understand that specialists have more years of training than me, but to have an income four to five times that of mine for the rest of our careers is ridiculous. The problem is Medicare which dictates what private insurance companies will reimburse.
"Incentives for medical students to pursue a career in primary care by helping with student loans is not enough to change this trend in which less than 10% of medical students are going into primary care. Medicare needs to restructure the reimbursement system now so current family practitioners, internists and pediatricians will have higher pay."
"Regarding nurse practitioners and physician assistants, I don't feel they should be relied on to the same degree as physicians. My training for medicine involved a very intense 12 years. A PA has 2 years of training that is much less intense. I have worked with many NPs and PAs and believe me they need advice from their supervising physician more often than not. Mistakes are made by the ones that not consulting with their supervising physicians. It is simply a matter of the intensity and length of our training that clearly separates us from an N.P. and P.A. Working 80-100 hrs/week in residency teaches you a lot."
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