


As new medical schools open and class sizes expand, many of the profession’s leaders are concerned about the shrinking proportion of graduate medical education slots. Or they may have chosen to open an unconventional cash-based practice.īecause of the shortage of primary physicians in this country, some osteopathic physicians believe that the three-year training requirement for family physicians, pediatricians and general internists is unnecessarily long. military, which allows one-year-trained physicians to serve as general medical officers and flight surgeons. They may be moonlighting to acquire additional income and experience while in their second year of residency. They may be in a transitional stage of their careers if they’ve been unable to land a residency position in their desired specialty. Yet some physicians do enter practice after one year of training. Chaudhry, DO, the FSMB’s president and CEO, noting that hard numbers are not available. Given such restrictions, the number of new physicians opting not to complete a residency is believed to be “very, very small,” says Humayun J. LaCasse, who chairs the AOA Bureau of Hospitals’ executive committee. “Physicians will find it more difficult to enter into employment relationships without doing a residency,” says Dr. Large health systems are imposing rigorous credentialing requirements on the hospitals, clinics and practice groups they are acquiring. This is especially true given the growing trend of hospitals and health systems consolidating, he notes. LaCasse, DO, MPH, the president and CEO of Botsford Health. With the majority of medical graduates today becoming employed physicians-many of whom work for hospitals or health systems-certification has become ever more essential, says Paul E. Increasingly, only board-certified or board-eligible physicians can obtain hospital privileges or employment in hospital-owned groups or become credentialed to serve on insurance panels as preferred providers. In all specialties recognized by the AOA or the American Board of Medical Specialties, becoming board certified requires completing a residency. But physicians who choose this once-common path for general practitioners face a number of hurdles. medical schools, according to the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB). after one year of residency or a stand-alone internship?” The answer to this popular question on Student Doctor Network is yes-in 37 states for DOs and 33 states for MDs who graduated from U.S. “Is it possible today to practice medicine in the U.S.
