Spring Break
Physician shortage hurts state hospitals
Keri Wabrowetz
Issue date: 11/17/08 Section: News
Grasmick said the Web site is targeting physicians doing their residency in Wisconsin or those who have left the state.
"We want to make sure they see all the job positions we have open and where they are at so they know there are a lot of job opportunities," she said.
Another strategy is attracting people who go to medical school who are more likely to return to their home areas to practice medicine, such as a rural area lacking physicians. Students who come from small towns often return to them, Grasmick said.
The Wisconsin Academy of Rural Medicine is part of the strategy.
"We think its going to be very successful," Grasmick said. "The people in that program are very dedicated and very motivated to move back into rural areas to practice medicine."
Attracting physicians to the inner city is also difficult, as it's not as an attractive place to practice medicine, Grasmick said. Patients often have issues unrelated to medical conditions, such as transportation problems or an inability to fill prescriptions, she said.
"Sometimes the location is almost daunting," Grasmick said. " It's not in the section of town that people would be as comfortable in."
The biggest obstacle is making sure inner-city physicians are making a living, Grasmick said.
For students at UW-Eau Claire, the alternative to hard-to-find primary care could be an increased use of Student Health Service.
Junior Melanie Gullerud and her Management 340: Organizational Behavior group are working on a project in collaboration with SHS to compare their prices with those of local emergency rooms or urgent care clinics.
"We want to get the word out to students that SHS is very convenient choice and less expensive to going to the hospital," Gullerud said.
Gullerud and her group chose to look at medical services they thought most college students would be interested in, such as birth control, mono tests and vaccines.
The group is making flyers comparing prices and services to hang up around Davies Center and to hand out to resident assistants in the dorms, Gullerud said, adding that they want to get the word out to non-traditional students and freshman who may be unaware of the services offered by SHS.
"I'm a junior, and I still didn't even know about most of the services," she said.
Gullerud stressed that SHS is not only convenient but also quite
inexpensive.
"I can just go here and get a shot, instead of my parents having to pay like $300," she said. "It's also like $4 for a strep or mono test … something that a lot of people have to get. You can save a lot of money going to student health."
"We want to make sure they see all the job positions we have open and where they are at so they know there are a lot of job opportunities," she said.
Another strategy is attracting people who go to medical school who are more likely to return to their home areas to practice medicine, such as a rural area lacking physicians. Students who come from small towns often return to them, Grasmick said.
The Wisconsin Academy of Rural Medicine is part of the strategy.
"We think its going to be very successful," Grasmick said. "The people in that program are very dedicated and very motivated to move back into rural areas to practice medicine."
Attracting physicians to the inner city is also difficult, as it's not as an attractive place to practice medicine, Grasmick said. Patients often have issues unrelated to medical conditions, such as transportation problems or an inability to fill prescriptions, she said.
"Sometimes the location is almost daunting," Grasmick said. " It's not in the section of town that people would be as comfortable in."
The biggest obstacle is making sure inner-city physicians are making a living, Grasmick said.
For students at UW-Eau Claire, the alternative to hard-to-find primary care could be an increased use of Student Health Service.
Junior Melanie Gullerud and her Management 340: Organizational Behavior group are working on a project in collaboration with SHS to compare their prices with those of local emergency rooms or urgent care clinics.
"We want to get the word out to students that SHS is very convenient choice and less expensive to going to the hospital," Gullerud said.
Gullerud and her group chose to look at medical services they thought most college students would be interested in, such as birth control, mono tests and vaccines.
The group is making flyers comparing prices and services to hang up around Davies Center and to hand out to resident assistants in the dorms, Gullerud said, adding that they want to get the word out to non-traditional students and freshman who may be unaware of the services offered by SHS.
"I'm a junior, and I still didn't even know about most of the services," she said.
Gullerud stressed that SHS is not only convenient but also quite
inexpensive.
"I can just go here and get a shot, instead of my parents having to pay like $300," she said. "It's also like $4 for a strep or mono test … something that a lot of people have to get. You can save a lot of money going to student health."
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Kathy
posted 11/18/08 @ 12:54 PM CST
People complain all the time about what they believe Doctors make. They don't think of the fact that they spend 4 years in college-have to graduate with very high marks in order to get into medical school which will probably cost at least 300,000-go thru the grueling 4 years in medical school-a couple of more years if they want to specialize and to top it off spend,I believe a couple more years doing their residency for peanuts and very little sleep. (Continued…)
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