US medical students discouraged about their careers

Nearly 23% of medical and nursing students in the US consider dropping out of college due to heavy curriculum and worries about future job pressure.

Elysse Santana, a fourth-year medical student at Washington University in St. Louis, is about to enter residency but is having second thoughts.

“I need to overcome concerns about the future like heavy residency programs, staff shortages, and patient overload,” Elysse said.

These are also factors that influence the career decisions of many medical students in the US. A 2023 report by Elsevier Health, a health-related publisher, found that 23% of medical and nursing students surveyed considered dropping out.

According to the survey, 54% of students said they were worried about their mental health; 57% believed they would burn out if they worked as clinical health workers; and 65% were concerned about the impact of the physician shortage on their careers.

The study also pointed out many factors leading to the decline in mental health of students, including: academic pressure and workload; financial difficulties and lack of support when dealing with patients.

In addition, 61% of students surveyed intend to use the knowledge they have learned for other jobs in the future, not directly related to patient care. The jobs they want include research, development of new treatments and equipment, or consulting...

Illustration: Etactics — Illustration: *Etactics*

This situation has many people worried. According to Cheryl Wilson, an expert at Elsevier, the shortage of health care workers is getting worse in the US. Late last year, the American Hospital Association estimated that more than 500,000 nurses left their jobs, causing a total shortage of 1.1 million people. Also in 2022, nearly 1,400 hospitals across the US reported severe staffing shortages.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that employment in health care will grow faster than any other occupation from 2022 to 2032, driven by the increased demand for in-home care or residential care for seniors and the prevalence of chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity. Nursing graduates alone will add more than 177,400 jobs, while physicians will see about 24,600.

According to the agency, the average salary in 2022 for a doctor and a nurse with a practice certificate is more than 229,000 (more than 5.56 billion VND) and 81,000 USD (more than 1.9 billion), respectively.

Huy Quan ( According to Newsfile, Elsevier Health, BLS, The Hill)

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