The Silver Lining in a Doctor Shortage

Hello, and welcome to our blog! I thought it would be appropriate to start this blog with an entry concerning the growing shortage of primary care physicians in this country and how it might present some context for our Crossroad Volunteer Internship Program. I will finish up by highlighting several of our projects, many of which we will be posting about on this site. 

In the midst of a health care overhaul in the form of the Affordable Care Act, the United States health care system is expected to fall short of the increasing demand of primary care physicians, with a nearly 66,000 doctor deficit by 2025. 

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has issued a report detailing the intense need to remedy this situation, providing a slew of recommendations to policy makers and other stakeholders. The AAMC provides several recommendations for increasing the number of federally funded residency posts, focusing most of the increases in resident doctors in primary care specialties. The AAMC also recommends continual investment in clinical research focused in in innovative, evidence based improvements to the delivery of care.

 Our Volunteer Internship Program at Crossroad Health Center, in an underserved, urban area of Cincinnati, Ohio, aims to provide some support to our network of health care providers while giving undergraduate (pre-health) students the opportunity to experience clinical care firsthand. By keeping up on clinical and nonclinical tasks, such as tracking patient progress in following through with referrals, screening patients for signs of adverse childhood events, or assisting patients with applying for Medicaid services, we have become an integral part of Crossroad’s health care team. Volunteers such as those in our program can only provide limited services to a team of health care professionals, but what we can provide is becoming increasingly important as the doctor shortage looms overhead. As pre-health students, we also look forward to exploring the world of primary care and the problem of health care delivery as volunteers at a community health center. 

Take a look around at our blog, at our various projects, and at our mission. We are excited to make ourselves part of the solution to a shrinking workforce of primary care doctors. We will be keeping this blog up to date with all kinds of reflective information about our experiences, and we hope that you will join us in this conversation! 

Click here for a recent TV spot of our program on Cincinnati’s local CBS news station WLWT.

- By Cameron Ingram