The number of doctors present in the United States of America directly affects the communities these doctors serve and plays an important role in how the country and its citizens approach health care. The United States experienced a physician surplus in the 1980s and was subsequently affected in several ways. However, many experts now say that there is a shortage of doctors in the United States now or, at the very least, there will be in the near future. National situations of surplus or shortage of doctors have many consequences, some of which are very detrimental to society. However, certain remedies can be implemented to try to remedy the problems or alleviate some of their symptoms. Just as the economy goes through its cycles, from down to up and back again, so does the number of doctors in the country. In the 1960s, the government attempted to recruit more doctors using a variety of methods. One such method was to reward medical schools for training a certain number of doctors (Bernstein 1013). This would encourage medical schools to accept more students and allow them to graduate and continue their studies in residency. Another such method was to provide monetary reward to residency programs for providing graduate medical education. This amounted to approximately $7 billion, a sum large enough to “pay the tuition and living expenses of every medical student in the United States,” with much left over as well (Bernstein 1013). As a result of these measures taken by the government, many more doctors were created, causing a surplus of doctors throughout the 1980s until the late 1990s, although this claim is based on...... middle of paper......lve some of the effects of the doctor shortage. However, by increasing the number of foreign residents in training, we would reduce the number of residency places that can be occupied by American students. So, it can be said that there are solutions that could remedy the situation, but these solutions may affect another trend or factor in a detrimental way. Many experts have said that there was a surplus of doctors in the past, but there will soon be a shortage of doctors. This shortage will have been caused by many factors and is expected to have various effects on society, both immediate and long-term. Solutions have been proposed to address this shortage, but there remains a delicate balance to be struck between these many solutions and factors. However, once this balance is found, long-term reduction in the physician shortage could begin...