Ep 1: Physician Demand and Supply (The Etherist, Season 2)

Anesthesiology News Presents

“Anesthesiology News presents The Etherist” is back. In Season 2, we dive into the future of the specialty of anesthesiology and the looming physician shortage that could threaten the field as we know it. We start by looking into a recent report from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and its projections of health care–wide physician shortages expected by 2033. In fact, the AAMC report projects that the United States will experience a shortage of 139,000 physicians, and that anesthesiology—along with specialties like pathology and emergency medicine—will have a shortage between 17,000 and 42,000 physicians. But what do all of these numbers mean for anesthesiologists in the field? Will the specialty actually experience a physician shortage? And what would that shortage look like, if it happens? We have dedicated a new season of The Etherist to answering these questions. 1. Association of American Medical Colleges. The complexities of physician supply and demand: projections from 2018 to 2033. aamc.org/system/files/2020-06/stratcomm-aamc-physician-workforce-projections-june-2020.pdf. June 2020. Accessed September 13, 2020. 2. Birk S. Looming anesthesiologist shortage fuels high market demand. Anesthesiology News. anesthesiologynews.com/PRN-/Article/08-19/Looming-Anesthesiologist-Shortage-Fuels-High-Market-Demand/55607. August 13, 2019. Accessed September 13, 2020.