Physicians are amongst the highest paid professionals in the world for a
couple of reasons. First, their skillset is not easily acquired and not
everyone can handle this profession. Second, the risk involved with their
profession is incredibly high as they hold peoples’ lives in their hands.
Delving deeper into these reasons involves further research. In order to
acquire their unique skill set, physicians have to undergo undergraduate
school, graduate school, and residency. Medical school alone can cost a
total of anywhere from $157,080 to $254,768 depending on if they go to
public or private school (College Ave Student Loans, 2022). On top of the
enormous amount of debt many people go into to obtain these degrees, the
effort and dedication that is required to do well and graduate is a category
only a small percentage of the population fits into. In order to pay off their
debt and be rewarded for all of their efforts, physicians should be paid high
salaries.1
Additionally, the high paycheck is a major draw for many people wanting
to become physicians. With the shortage in healthcare workers, including
physicians, there needs to be an incentive for people to become physicians.
A high paycheck is a great incentive for many people. Lowering this
paycheck could risk enlarging the gap in how many physicians the country
currently has versus how many it needs. In fact, one of the reasons the U.S.
has a shortage of primary care physicians is because going into a specialty
is more lucrative. This has resulted in the U.S. having only 0.3 physicians
per 1,000 people whereas Canada has 1.2 physicians per 1,000 people
(Levine, 2018). While ethically, the ideal situation would be for physicians
to help anyone in need, realistically, they need to pay back their student
loans and be kept happy due to the demand for physicians in the U.S.
References
College Ave Student Loans. (2022).1How Much Does Medical School
Cost? Average Medical Degree Tuition & Costs. Retrieved
from1https://www.collegeavestudentloans.com/blog/how-much-does-
medical-school-cost-average-medical-degree-tuition-costs/
1
Levine, H. (2018).Will You See an Actual Doctor the Next Time You Go to
the Doctor?1Retrieved from1https://www.consumerreports.org/doctors/will-
you-see-an-actual-doctor-when-you-go-to-the-doctor/
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