Does Lancaster Have Rx for Young Doctors?
By Jeff Hawkes
Worrisome state trend Opportunities, respect
The alluring Sangre de Cristo Mountains cast a spell as Dr. Kirsten Johnsen Martin weighed an offer to start her medical career in their shadow.
But having trained for three years as a family medicine resident at Lancaster General Hospital, Martin felt a tug stronger than her fondness for the scenery of the Southwest.
Offered positions in Colorado and New Mexico, Martin, 31, has chosen to stay in Lancaster.
“Something inside kept nudging me to stay,” said Martin, a Massachusetts native who started Sept. 4 at SouthEast Lancaster Health Services. “Part of it is I saw a greater need here with so many patients who are underinsured or uninsured.”
In the 35-year history of Lancaster General’s residency program, roughly 70 percent of graduates have moved on to careers beyond Lancaster County.
But in the past three years, about two-thirds have decided to stay. Of the 13 who graduated in June, nine are remaining in the county. Two others are staying in Pennsylvania.
Dr. Stephen Ratcliffe, residency program director, calls the trend good news for Lancaster County.
“There’s a clearly projected deficit of family practice physicians for the next several years,” he said. “We can’t train them fast enough.”
Across the state, the trend has been for doctors trained in Pennsylvania to practice elsewhere.
From 1994 to 2004, the rate of physicians remaining in the state after completing Pennsylvania residency training fell from about 50 percent to 7.8 percent.
The percentage of Pennsylvania physicians under the age of 35 fell from almost 12 percent in 1994 to 3.4 percent in 2004.
Pennsylvania’s failure to retain graduating doctors has come at a time when the state’s population is aging and needing greater care.
“If the trend continues, we’re anticipating by 2010 that we could have a shortfall of just under 10,000 physicians,” said Chuck Moran, of Pennsylvania Medical Society, which speaks for Pennsylvania’s 29,000 doctors.
Why have new doctors abandoned Pennsylvania? Moran cited low reimbursement rates and the high cost of medical malpractice insurance. With staggering loans to pay off, young doctors move to states where they can make more money.
Then why are more residency graduates staying in Lancaster County these days?
Ratcliffe said one reason is the range of opportunities for family doctors.
There are practices for those who want to do it all – deliver babies, have office hours and see patients in the hospital.
Others wanting to focus on the elderly may join a burgeoning local geriatric practice.
Some want a predictable 40-hour workweek in an emergency department’s urgent-care center.
And one doctor splits his time between seeing patients and running a medical information system.
Another factor, Ratcliffe said, is Lancaster General has given money to help clinics offer doctors competitive salaries. Most recently the hospital provided the SouthEast clinic with $140,000 to help it match $150,000 in state funding earmarked for physician compensation.
Interesting work opportunities and satisfactory salaries play roles in retention but aren’t the whole story. New graduates also are staying because Lancaster County has gotten under their skin.
“There’s a respect for family practitioners here that’s not necessarily found in bigger cities,” said Maryland native Dr. Stephanie McKnight, 28, now practicing in Ronks.
Dr. Rachel Eash-Scott, 31, a Midwesterner who considered practicing in Milwaukee but started last week at SouthEast, said she and her husband just “really enjoy living in Lancaster. It may be we stay here for a long time.”
E-mail: jhawkes@lnpnews.com
(c) 2007 Intelligencer Journal. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.