A Report Card on the Physician Work Force in the United States

In a 1992 report,1 the Council on Graduate Medical Education concluded that deficiencies in the physician work force, the medical-education system, and public policy would hinder efforts to provide high-quality and affordable health care for all people in the United States. A surplus of specialists, shortages of minority physicians and generalists, poor geographic distribution of physicians, and inadequate training of physicians in key practice skills were identified as problems. A series of national goals were recommended that, if attained by the year 2000, would result in a physician work force better suited in composition and skills to respond to health . . .