With so much healthcare innovation underway and new tools at our fingertips, this should be a time of optimism. But a critical shortage of physicians and nurses looms on the horizon.
Those who work in this field have grappled in recent years with the ways the pandemic has intensified existing challenges and added new pressures to an already overburdened healthcare pipeline. Now, as we look ahead over the next decade, we’re anticipating a projected shortfall of 124,000 doctors across the U.S.
We know firsthand that solving this shortage isn’t simply about producing more graduates. It’s about rethinking the journey—from the first day of pre-med to residency and beyond—to make healthcare careers accessible, appealing and modern. We are long overdue for a reboot of our approach and traditional mindset of how individuals become healthcare professionals.
We don’t have all the answers, but here are some ways we can get started modernizing our approach to training the next generations of medical leaders.
Embracing Inclusivity
If we want a healthcare workforce that reflects the communities it serves, let’s start with our admissions criteria and methods of accessibility support. One avenue we can take is to critically re-evaluate standardized testing as a primary filter. During the pandemic, many universities moved away from SATs and other standardized exams in undergraduate admissions. This change opened doors for students from non-traditional backgrounds and widened the talent pool. For example, while the USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examination) Step 1 exam transitioned to a pass/fail system to promote access and diversification, the pressure simply shifted to Step 2 and Step 3 exams, raising the question: Has this change truly addressed the underlying issue?
The same approach could work in medical education. By moving toward a more holistic admissions process, we could welcome more diverse applicants who bring unique perspectives and life experiences—qualities that are invaluable in treating diverse patient populations. Additionally, introducing programs at the K-12 level to expose students to medical careers through mentorships, summer programs and partnerships with local healthcare organizations could spark early interest and build pathways for underrepresented groups.
The current system is stuck in the past. The typical path from undergraduate studies to clinical practice is grueling, costly and anything but efficient. There are too many hoops to jump through, and many feel outdated. We expect students to take on enormous debt to navigate this process, leaving countless potential applicants discouraged before they even begin.
But the status quo is more than just expensive, it also reinforces a scarcity mindset. At every transition—from undergrad to med school, from med school to residency—the number of students is winnowed down, a “weeding out” process that eliminates many promising candidates who don’t fit neatly into traditional molds. The stakes are high, the cost is high, and it often feels like we’re deliberately excluding people from the profession rather than welcoming them into it.
Meeting Modern Students’ Needs: Streamlining Training with Technology
Today’s healthcare students, much like the patients they’ll serve, live in a digital world, and they expect a digital education to match. If we want to attract and retain a new generation of diverse, skilled and motivated clinicians, we need to meet them where they are. Medical training is ill-suited for the way modern students learn. They’re raised in a digital environment and accustomed to rapid access to information. Yet in medical school, they’re confronted with manual administrative tasks, paperwork and lengthy, inefficient processes to progress from one phase of their education to another.
One of the quickest ways to future-proof healthcare is by using technology to make education more efficient. Simulation-based learning, virtual reality and AI-driven tools could make medical education more accessible and engaging. For example, AI-driven simulators can help students build skills efficiently while reducing the financial and logistical burden of traditional training environments. Imagine if students could complete parts of their training virtually, using AI and augmented reality to build foundational skills before ever entering an operating room. This technology—which already exists today and is quickly evolving—could reduce the overall time in training, saving students money and accelerating the path to practice. Equally important, technology could alleviate the administrative burden on students and residents.
Preparing for Practice, Not Just Passing Exams
One thing is certain: The demands on new doctors will only grow as our population ages and patient numbers increase. We need to ensure that new healthcare professionals are ready, not just to treat patients but to thrive in real-world settings.
The current system is often more concerned with exams and theoretical knowledge than with hands-on competencies. It’s common to hear students, fresh out of med school, admit they feel unprepared for the clinical challenges ahead. They’re trained to pass tests, not necessarily to transition smoothly into practical environments.
A shift toward competency-based education would help. Rather than relying solely on exams, we should assess students based on their ability to apply their knowledge in real-life scenarios. In fact, residency programs are already starting to move in this direction. Developing accelerated programs that reduce the length and cost of medical education, such as combined undergraduate and medical school tracks, could also help streamline the pathway to licensure. For example, some U.S. programs allow students to complete these phases in one year less, following similar models seen in Europe, where high school students can enter medical school directly.
Quality of Life Concerns
Finally, finding and retaining talent has become an increasingly difficult task, especially as the healthcare workforce shrinks due to stressors and environmental challenges. With more than 50% of doctors, nurses and medical students reporting burnout, we know that retaining top talent is going to require more than just competitive salaries. For example, The National Council of State Boards of Nursing recently reported that around 100,000 nurses left the field due to stress from the pandemic, and they estimate another 610,000 will leave by 2027 for similar reasons.
Creating flexible, hybrid programs that accommodate working adults, parents and career changers—along with financial aid and part-time learning options—can help make medical education more accessible to a broader range of individuals.
Many physicians have also debated the question: Is being a doctor a job or a calling? For older generations, the answer was clear—long hours and relentless schedules were simply the price of caring for patients. However, many young doctors advocate for a more balanced work culture that respects personal and family time. Some even envision futures with four-day workweeks. These perspectives are a response to the very real pressures young doctors face—not only in patient care but also in balancing their lives outside of work. We see this as an opportunity for the profession to evolve and innovate.
The Big Picture: Why We Can’t Afford to Wait
The healthcare system can’t keep limping along, expecting different results. Patients are already feeling the effects of provider shortages, and without significant change those effects will only worsen. If we fail to invest in a more efficient, modernized training pipeline, we’ll be dealing with a generation of patients who lack timely access to quality care.
It’s time to envision a pipeline that works for both students and society—one that attracts motivated students from all walks of life, supports them financially, trains them effectively and provides them with a smooth transition into practice. Future-proofing the healthcare pipeline isn’t a matter of convenience; it’s a matter of necessity.
For every young person who wants to join this profession and for every patient waiting to see a doctor, we owe it to them to rethink and rebuild the system.
Mike DeSimone
Mike DeSimone is GM at Ascend Learning.
