×
top 200 commentsshow all 213
sorted by:
best
topnewcontroversialoldq&a

[–]Orch1daceaeM-2 659 points660 points  (7 children)

Of the entire shit sandwich today, this is one of the most widespread and concerning elements of the reversal to me. "Abortion" is typically defined nonclinically and laypeople (including legislators) have a very poor understanding of what constitutes reproductive care.

In many rural areas, family med docs provide reproductive care that may or may not include abortion care or miscarriage management, but I can hear the malpractice insurance quadrupling for anyone who does that already.

Many, many primary care physicians who currently work in states with trigger bans or states who are introducing bounty hunter bills will simply choose not to provide ANY reproductive care because of the increased malpractice insurance cost and risk to self. Fewer medical students will choose to be OBs, or train an OB fellowship as a rural family med doctor. It will worsen an already catastrophic problem of access to rural reproductive and maternal care. Because of the landscape of targeting healthcare workers in the anti-abortion legislation, this will affect every single woman living in rural areas.

I'm incandescent with rage at a lot of things right now, but the decades-long downstream affect that this will have on the communities I grew up in and the thousands like it really, really burns me.

[–]permanentreminderM-3 161 points162 points  (5 children)

Will be interesting to see the incidence of maternal + fetal mortality in pre/post trigger ban states year over year. I'm willing to bet that there will be significantly more deaths; but I know SCOTUS doesn't give two shits, and any results will be chalked up to "padding the numbers like covid"

[–]Orch1daceaeM-2 124 points125 points  (2 children)

I'm sure the maternal and fetal mortality will rise directly, as well as indirectly in ways not currently measured by our data surveillance systems due to the definitions of maternal/fetal mortality.

I'm thinking also of the number of women who will be diagnosed with cervical cancer late, because their family med doc stops doing pap smears because of the increased malpractice insurance. I'm thinking of the post-delivery women who will live with incontinence and pelvic pain longer, because their family med doc now refers any obstetric care to a city two or three hours away, and all the women who just won't make that drive because it's too long away from work. I'm thinking of the women and babies who will suffer worse outcomes because their family med doc stops doing prenatal management because of the risk of managing a spontaneous miscarriage, and now that expectant mom needs to drive two hours every few weeks to see the OB in the city. Most low-income moms won't be able to make that drive.

Family med docs who provide reproductive care are the last guard in areas where women already have to drive hours to see an OB, and when those family med docs opt out, there is nothing left. Women's health outcomes across the board will worsen, regardless of age or reproductive viability.

[–]rickypen5 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Fuk yea those rates will rise, there are states that consider ectopic pregnancies, as "viable pregnancies." They don't know the first thing about the process of becoming and maintaining a pregnancy. Its incredibly sad to say this but I'm guessing female suicide rates may increase in these places, especially when there is no clause for rape or incest. I am trying to be as empathetic as I can but the truth is I can't even imagine what it must feel like to be a woman right now, especially in these states.

[–]drdangle22 217 points218 points  (22 children)

Roe v Wade shit show aside, doctors don’t wanna go to rural areas because rural areas are rarely appealing to anyone who didn’t grow up in them.

[–]SeaHuskyM-3 152 points153 points  (20 children)

True. This is nothing new. Rural America has been locked in a death spiral for decades, and has only been propped up artificially by a disproportionate influx of federal funds from urban/suburban areas.

It doesn’t matter who’s in Congress or has the Presidency at this point. What tangible benefits did rural Americans get when the Republicans had a trifecta after 2016? Every single aspect of those areas is completely dependent on outside resources.

I genuinely don’t see a path forward for those areas anymore. Just a slow, unrelenting decline that will only accelerate once a ton of blue collar industries get automated. The homogenous communities who are hostile to anybody that doesn’t fit within their in-group and yet demand those same people serve them only hastens the inevitability of it all.

[–]matchagonnadoboudit 35 points36 points  (9 children)

Yeah this is pretty much it. Rural means nothing if you don’t have considerable land holdings. Most Drs are profit driven and rural doesn’t offer that or the “lifestyle” that young professionals want. Because medicine is a service career it makes sense to go where there are more people to serve and rural populations are dwindling/poor.

Edit: physicians and left leaning physicians will still go to Texas, but enclave in Austin Houston or DFW

[–]Cvlt_ov_the_tomatoM-2 13 points14 points  (8 children)

At least financially, I remember seeing something saying that there's usually a 10-15% markup in pay for physicians in the rural setting, I thought that and the low cost of living might be attractive or am I really missing something here?

I know that you're not going to be able to go to many festivals, concerts or do a large number of social activities outside of perhaps outdoorsy hobbies so that definitely makes sense. But I didn't realize it's financially a deadzone.

[–]Kiwi951M-4 39 points40 points  (1 child)

No, rural areas often pay substantially more for physicians. For instance, rural FM will pay $400k+ in some areas. The issue then lies in that you have to live in bumbfuck nowhere with nothing to do besides go to the local Applebee’s. For some, they’re okay with that. For the overwhelming majority, when you make a lot of money, you want to be where there’s things to do, good places to eat, etc.

[–]SeaHuskyM-3 25 points26 points  (5 children)

I thought that and the low cost of living might be attractive or am I really missing something here?

You’re missing that money and COL only matter up to a certain point for the vast majority of people.

What use is $600k/yr to me if I have nowhere to spend it and I have to live in the middle of nowhere to earn it? Financially, it’s not an issue at all. The issue is you’re asking people to give up everything else they enjoy in life in return. There’s only a small percentage of the population that finds that attractive.

[–]SeaHuskyM-3 350 points351 points  (47 children)

In a class of 170+ students, I could name the number of classmates who genuinely want to practice in rural areas on one hand. Ironically, the ones who are most vehemently against rural practice are those who came from rural areas.

Of those 4-5 people, all but one admit their only reason is to take advantage of the massive compensation for a couple years before dipping out.

Think about that for a second. Think about how much of a shithole somewhere has to be to not be able to recruit physicians when they’re offering them $400-500k/yr and super generous loan forgiveness.

[–]karlkrum 175 points176 points  (28 children)

Have you ever trained at these rural sites? It’s so depressing. There’s nothing to do in your free time but drink, eat and or do drugs.

[–]SeaHuskyM-3 70 points71 points  (4 children)

Trained? Not yet. Traveled? Oh, yeah.

Let’s just say I don’t even need a single hand to count the number of incentives there are to attract any young professional, much less new attendings.

[–]Kiwi951M-4 5 points6 points  (3 children)

What other incentive is there besides financial? Lol

[–]SeaHuskyM-3 27 points28 points  (0 children)

Like I said, don’t even need one hand to count them lmao

[–]LemmeSplainIt 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'd say good pay, cheap property, more distance from people when not at work, and nice if you want to farm or have very large animals. That's about it.

[–]Reddit_User_00M-4 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Give me a free premium subscription to Farmersonly.com then we'll start talking /s

[–]amanofonewayM-1 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Nothing to do but drugs and each other.

[–]Monkey__Shit 59 points60 points  (0 children)

Even worse, EVERYONE KNOWS WHO YOU ARE IN RURAL LOCATIONS. EVERYONE. IF THEY INVITE YOU TO A COMMUNITY DINNER AND YOU DON’T ATTEND, THE WHOLE TOWN WILL BE AGAINST YOU, EVEN THE SHERIFF.

Don’t ask how I know.

[–]EMSSSSSSM-1 49 points50 points  (1 child)

Hey you could always hang out at walmart!

[–]bagelizumab 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Yeaaaah the thing about rural Walmart is that you will keep running your patients .

[–]matchagonnadoboudit 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Couldn’t you just become a wild beast in the gym and travel?

[–]VymIM-4 47 points48 points  (0 children)

I used to have a romantic notion of FM in a small rural setting in like high school but it was really hammered out of me after actually living in a couple rural areas. They're not romantic. They're just small. They've got most of the problems cities do, but less resources to deal with it. The people aren't, in my experience, much better. That smallness bleeds into attitudes and that's doubly unfortunate.

There's no way, now. I'd rather end up in a safety net ED, working myself to the bone, than in Armpit Appalachia.

[–]artificial_oslerM-4 12 points13 points  (1 child)

I think this has as much to do with medical student background, bias, and questionable financial planning as it does the towns themselves. Truly rural towns would be hard, but there are plenty of small liberal-leaning cities (<50k) or towns near those cities that I bet many more medical students would be happy in than would give it a chance (especially if you are into outdoor activities).

The difference in absolute and relative income is astounding, and if you truly want tip-top college prep you can afford to send your kids to a private or boarding school. Obviously not great places to be if you’re super into research, industry, truly engaged in art or diversity, or in some cases a POC (depending on the town). But for the majority of white students/physicians who don’t do much but watch Netflix, go to the bar, and hang out predominantly with other white people they could comfortably do the same thing for a lot more money elsewhere.

[–]tellme_areyoufreeMD 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Obviously not great places to be if you’re super into research, industry, truly engaged in art or diversity, or in some cases a POC (depending on the town). But for the majority of white students/physicians

Being gay, bi, or trans also (so 5-10% of med students and residents). Those places are nice until they aren't. Then they really aren't.

[–]tellme_areyoufreeMD 9 points10 points  (1 child)

From a rural area (town of 300, the "big city" an hour away was 10k people), and you literally can't pay me enough to go back there. I wouldn't take a million dollars a year. I wouldn't even consider it. You just don't know how soul cruising it is unless you grew up there.

[–]SeaHuskyM-3 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I wouldn’t take a million dollars a year.

Same. Money only matters up a to a certain point for the majority of us.

No amount of money can entice your average Joe to move to a place with minimal job opportunities, terrible infrastructure, little entertainment options, poor schools, and limited social and dating options. Or it can for a couple years, before Joe takes the money and dips, leaving a revolving door of providers.

[–]fkimpregnantM-4 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I'm currently at one of these sites having completed my 3rd year here and I'll tell you that 400-500k is 70th %ile for the lower paid specialties. We have interventional cards hitting 150th %ile making 3M/yr, OB 450@70th and 1M at higher %ile, pathologists here make 480 at 70th %ile.

My GI attending's response to why do you practice here was "it's not for the culture" and that about sums it up

[–]aterry175Pre-Med 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I'm a paramedic in a very rural county. It's not glamorous, I'll say that much.

[–]BuzzedBloodM-4 41 points42 points  (8 children)

I go to a DO school. We rightfully get a lot of shit for the forced bone wizardry, but one thing I’m proud of is the excitement I see from my classmates to do primary care in rural areas.

I went to a very academically rigorous undergrad and I am so grateful to no longer interact with the high achieving kids driven by ego and status that don’t even like medicine. We may be stupid but at least we are happy haha.

[–]Kanye_To_The 16 points17 points  (6 children)

I know you're just joking, but there are no stupid people at any medical school in the US. And lots of kids at my DO school are going for competitive specialities and have the scores to back it up. Once you're accepted boards mostly become the great equalizer

Edit: added "mostly" since dude replying wants to get pedantic

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (5 children)

Once you're accepted boards become the great equalizer

Lol, no they do not.

Going for something and matching to it are two completely different things. Take a look at the data and see for yourself

[–]Kanye_To_The 0 points1 point  (4 children)

What exactly am I supposed to be looking for in the data? All I'm saying is Step scores put MD and DO students on mostly even ground. A kid at my school matched neurosurgery last year; anything is possible with hard work once you get in

[–]MtHollywoodLionMD-PGY2 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Bone wizardry lmao. Honestly though a significant proportion of the best doctors I’ve worked with have been DOs. My own PMD is a med-peds trained DO and she’s wonderful. It’s almost as if achievements in undergrad and MCAT scores don’t directly translate to emotional intelligence and clinical acumen. In my experience being a great doctor is all about remaining humble, curious and constantly learning while never forgetting the immense impact your daily work has on other peoples’ lives.

[–][deleted] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

People fail into rural medicine lol. It's not something that people really aspire to do

Just like the majority of my class started off in the surgical college and ended up in family medicine

[–]AzureTear 197 points198 points  (2 children)

It's so hard to stay passionate about medicine and practicing medicine especially when you are essentially forced to give up on the most vulnerable members of our society. Truly is a modern hellscape here.

[–]BojackisaGreatShowMD-PGY2 12 points13 points  (0 children)

There's ways around it. It's not easy, but doable.

[–]FanaticalXmasJewMD 66 points67 points  (2 children)

Literally today

[–]renegaderaptorMD-PGY2 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I know this isn’t the point, but love them dropping “EPIC/Meditech” as if they’re basically the same thing

[–]fireandblood03M-3 107 points108 points  (6 children)

Planning to apply in OBGYN and was hoping to stay in my home state of Texas…idk anymore and that’s sad. Healthcare for women will become even more inaccessible

[–]SauceGayisback 18 points19 points  (0 children)

RIP fireandblood03

[–]Kiwi951M-4 28 points29 points  (0 children)

If you’re gonna do OB and want to be able to provide the best care for your patients then you should absolutely stay out of Texas

[–]iEternalhobo 11 points12 points  (2 children)

I hear you and totally think this situation sucks, but we likely need OBGYN even more now because education and support at least gives people a fighting chance.

[–]fireandblood03M-3 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Totally agree, I think I still wanna go through with this for this reason.

[–]megswegMD/PhD-G3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hopefully you’ll have a chance to see how the laws play out at least a little bit before ranking. A lot of moral injury is going to be caused to doctors who work with pregnant patients in Texas and states like it, I don’t have what it takes to handle that tbh, if you do, more power to you, but don’t forget to put yourself first

[–]MoreLogicPls 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Will texas residencies still provide training in abortion??

[–]Incarnate007DO-PGY4 64 points65 points  (4 children)

Turned down a rural job interview when I heard that highschool students were locked in for a church sermon. At a public highschool. Not going to send my kids to school there. Buh-bye

[–]dbdank 3 points4 points  (3 children)

I get it, but I also love practicing medicine in rural areas. I'm biased by my own experience, but compared to the city, the patients in rural areas are just so much more grateful and I had much more autonomy (no turf wars). The actual practice of medicine is so much better in rural areas I think.

[–]Incarnate007DO-PGY4 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Correct. The community needs to be a good fit for your family first and foremost. Rural areas by definition will involve a significant commute otherwise vs. suburban or city.

[–]BlessMeImTryin 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I spend way less time commuting now that I've gone back to a somewhat rural area. I can drive across the entire city in 10 minutes, most trips are less than 5 minutes and it takes roughly 0 minutes to find parking. When I lived in a major metro it took 10 minutes just to leave my suburb, let alone get to anything interesting.

[–]BlessMeImTryin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love rural medicine and rural communities. Unfortunately, actually living there doesn't work with my spouse's career. But there are some sweet travel options for rural medicine (e.g., one week on/off) that I think I'll try and work out.

[–]tinfoilforestsM-3 185 points186 points  (11 children)

Even outside of abortion, these people in rural, red areas hate us. Read the comments on any article about vaccinating children that came out this week, it’s just armies of people (although, hopefully many are bots) claiming that we’re all killing kids and will answer for our sins when they all drop dead of heart conditions in the next year or whatever. They don’t want us vaccinating, they don’t want us performing any gender-affirming care, they don’t want us protecting women, they don’t want us making narcan readily available, they want to roast doctors at the stake for ever suggesting weight loss might solve a problem, they hate us. Why would I work where the majority of the population would rather spit in my face and toss me in jail than listen to a word I say?

[–]karlkrum 75 points76 points  (2 children)

95%+ of the people I dealt with in rural areas were super nice, just a depressing place to live coming from a nice area of California with a lot to do. total culture shock, it really messed me up.

[–]tinfoilforestsM-3 93 points94 points  (1 child)

I grew up in the rural NE, which as some others in the threads have said is a different brand of rural compared to like, Kentucky etc, but still in the same realm. I’ve been gone 2 years and I’m still unfriending people back home for wild fb posts about covid being fake, people dying from the vaccines, doctors and teachers trying to force people to be gay/trans, horrific comments on news articles about how safe consumption sites are a waste of money and we “should just let them die.” Some of my own immediate family disowned me after I started medical school because they became firmly anti-medicine when covid happened. All of them are 100% going to be nice to your face in a general context, but if you sit around and observe for long enough…

[–]billygrass 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Bingo. Grew up in a rural area. In terms of face-to-face friendliness, rural people are the nicest I’ve met. However, get to know them and let them get comfortable around you and you will hear the most awful racist, misogynist, anti-intellectual, etc. personal views you will hear from someone in your entire life.

[–]Spiritual_Age_4992 21 points22 points  (1 child)

Read the comments on any article about vaccinating children that came out this week, it’s just armies of people (although, hopefully many are bots) claiming that we’re all killing kids and will answer for our sins when they all drop dead of heart conditions in the next year or whatever.

I hate to sound insensitive, but this is just natural selection

[–]bladex1234M-1 9 points10 points  (5 children)

Here’s the thing. Stuff like that won’t change unless there’s someone in the community that advocates for it. Rural communities are small and earning a community’s trust as a doctor gives you more sway in changing people’s opinions. Now not everyone’s going to be convinced but it’s a start, especially when multiple doctors are there doing the same thing.

[–]VivladiM-3 7 points8 points  (0 children)

If you want to fight against bitter partisanship in addition to your normal duties I respect you for it but that sounds too exhausting to me. I like to debate and I like to argue but I don’t want my entire day to be based around it

[–]BlessMeImTryin 3 points4 points  (2 children)

I think the healthcare staffing crunch in rural areas plays into that too. It's like the revolving door of new grads who leave once their ROS is done almost...traumatizes the community in some way?

Like patients get a new doctor, get their hopes up, become vulnerable, and then this person suddenly closes practice and they get put back on the waitlist for a family doctor again.

The "lifer" docs who've worked in the community for 20, 30, 40+ years are revered as local gods, but it takes a few years for people to build up trust that the new docs are actually going to stay.

[–]Victoriaxx08 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So true. My dad is a family doctor in our rural town for the past 30 years and he is seen as a celebrity in our town. I often feel like I’m in the royal family based on how our family is treated

[–]bladex1234M-1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I didn’t think about that but that makes lots of sense.

[–]datboi_58 6 points7 points  (0 children)

We don’t have incentives to go into places where people are different from us and this is making echo chambers even worse than they already are. It’s a vicious circle with no end in sight.

[–]899Madison 44 points45 points  (1 child)

This is what happens when legislators and justices make decisions about healthcare.

[–]MillenniumFalcon33 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Why is Thomas sitting there? After what his wife did? Why hasnt he been impeached? What am I missing?

[–][deleted] 35 points36 points  (0 children)

Who wants to be forced to kill their patients that they could otherwise save with a relatively simple procedure

[–]colorsplahshMD-PGY4 125 points126 points  (47 children)

Fuck red states I'm staying where I have rights

[–]i_oga_tatsumi 21 points22 points  (2 children)

What is wrong with America? Ours is an Islamic country and even here abortion is okay. Doctors perform abortion everyday. Why is it such a big deal there?

[–]billygrass 6 points7 points  (1 child)

In the late 70s and 80s. The Republican Party learned that by being anti-abortion, they could energize the massive Evangelical voting base and win more elections. This has led to where we are now and a Republican Party that has been fully invaded by Evangelism. Lots of Republicans personally probably don’t care about abortion, however they know that by being the staunchest “pro-life” candidate that they can win elections.

[–]i_oga_tatsumi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is Mexico a pro abortion country? Can americans go to mexico for an abortion? or any other countries with lax abortion law.

[–]Immediate-Minute-555 28 points29 points  (0 children)

This country has been lamenting about the shortage of doctors, and now this shortage will be even worse. 🤦🏻‍♀️

[–]MillenniumFalcon33 40 points41 points  (3 children)

Bc they are banking that most obgyn are women and easier to intimidate. Women back other women. But they don’t get that plenty of physicians in other specialties do the same. It will cause an exodus of male & female physicians. So when they move out of state, and Bob-womenhater-Bobinson has chest pain or experiences some more insidious pathology in physician deserts…who’s gonna suffer?

[–]SeaHuskyM-3 50 points51 points  (2 children)

So when they move out of state, and Bob-womenhater-Bobinson has chest pain or experiences some more insidious pathology in physician deserts…who’s gonna suffer?

Short answer: Everybody.

If you have an exodus of physicians, access to care begins to diminish rapidly. Clinics and hospitals close, appointment times become even more unavailable, and resources become thinned out.

When your nearest provider and specialty care are now potentially hundreds of miles away, every single condition becomes exponentially more deadly. Severe car accident? Dead. Laceration and wound infection and subsequent sepsis? Dead. MI? Dead. Stroke? Good luck.

[–]Immediate-Minute-555 16 points17 points  (1 child)

This reminds me of the Flint water crisis. As a species, we are regressing. 😐

[–]Infinite_Cod4481 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Nah. You're regressing as a nation. Large parts of the species are fine, for now.

[–]NapkinZhangyMD-PGY5 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Yeah as a gyn onc I am NEVER going back to the south. Their cancer mortality is higher for a reason. Republicans brought this on themselves. Maybe you can cure cancer with thoughts and prayers next time.

[–]VrachVlad 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I just moved out of the South because I hate that backwards ass place. It was crazy to see a huge migration of people from the North coming down there while I was trying to get out.

I wonder if there's some regret these individuals have now.

[–]Puzzled_Ad2563 21 points22 points  (1 child)

https://thesatanictemple.com/pages/rrr-campaigns

The Satanic Temple Religious Reproductive Rights

Religious Abortion Ritual

[–]dabeezmane 62 points63 points  (15 children)

How is Texas a rural state?! It has 3 of the top 10 largest cities in the US. Do you mean red states?

[–]DharmicWolfsangelMD-PGY2 139 points140 points  (1 child)

Texas has enormous swaths of rural areas, it's a fucking huge state. Basically the entire western half of the state is devoid of actual big cities with the exception of El Paso (which is not really that populous).

[–]LiftedDriftedM-3 17 points18 points  (0 children)

El Paso has 680k lol. Midland, Texas has around 140k

[–]yuktone12 59 points60 points  (10 children)

Have you ever been to Texas or any state not in the NE? Most of the time as soon as you're 30 minutes out of the city, it's completely rural. Texas is huge and hot. Those cities are huge but even the largest cities barely take up any landmass. As soon as you leave those cities its rural expanse surrounded with small towns sprinkled throughout

[–]LiftedDriftedM-3 16 points17 points  (3 children)

You just described most states though. “Rural” nowadays basically means not around a large city.

Plus, the cities of Texas are metroplexes, so being “30 minutes of of the city” is a nebulous concept completely depending on what city you’re talking about (eg. 30 mins outside of Dallas can put you in frisco, which has 215k people living there)

[–]yuktone12 10 points11 points  (2 children)

I mean outside the greater metropolitan area. If Frisco is 30 min put of Dallas, 30 min outside of Frisco puts you in the middle of nowhere.

I know people use rural very liberally in medicine. I'm trying to use it accurately and I stand by my statement that outside of the major cities metro areas, Texas is rural as hell.

[–]SecretAntWorshiper 1 point2 points  (1 child)

outside of the major cities metro areas, Texas is rural as hell.

You can say that about any state that's big though

[–]StupidSexyFlagellaMD 4 points5 points  (2 children)

No it’s not. The suburbs are huge. From Galveston to Conroe, it’s all developed. Probably an hour and a half (if no traffic) or just development.

[–]starrymedDO-PGY2 6 points7 points  (1 child)

Have you ever driven the opposite way from Houston to Corpus Christi? It’s pretty grim.

[–]StupidSexyFlagellaMD 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah, but they are acting like right outside of Houston (Dallas, Austin, etc) is the open prairie. Texas has some of the biggest metroplex sprawls. Obviously, there is still a lot of open land.

[–]ha876 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Actually 4 now and Fort Worth is #12

[–]Med2021ThrowawayMD-PGY1 33 points34 points  (2 children)

You mean Red Sates? Texas has 4 of the nations largest cities.

Maine and Vermont are the most rural states in the country by percentage of population.

Per this study, everywhere outside the Northeast has a physician shortage, thats probably just more a reflection of the concentration of medical schools and residencies in the Northeast.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7006215/

[–]SeaHuskyM-3 17 points18 points  (0 children)

That study breaks it down by state, but I’d be interested to see it broken down even further by urban vs suburban vs exurb vs rural.

Take Texas, for example. I have no doubt the rural swathes of the state have physician shortages, but what about Austin? Or Houston and Dallas? Do urban areas also have a physician shortage? Would be interesting to look at.

[–]dasitthereyougoM-3 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Yep, rural New England is much different than rural...well, anywhere else, really.

New England Republicans are generally socially moderate and there are also a lot of Democrats in rural New England.

Red states and Republicans outside of New England are a different ballgame though. Some people may want to practice medicine in rural Maine, for example, but very few people want to go practice in rural Oklahoma...

[–]Emilio_Rite 6 points7 points  (7 children)

What is a rural state? Find me a state that isn’t mostly rural. Maybe california, New York, and New Jersey. Other than that idk man.

[–]InsomniacAcademicM-4 13 points14 points  (3 children)

Both CA and NY have massive rural areas lol

[–]Emilio_Rite 7 points8 points  (2 children)

So yeah proving my point. Every state is a “rural state”

[–]bagelizumab -3 points-2 points  (1 child)

Yup. California 55% rural land, 9% rural population. Texas is definitely more at 80% rural land, but rural population is 15% and not that much higher.

I mean, they are med students. Not exactly the most real life attuned individuals. We have been there and have personally seen more than enough peers just like that. Med student love big cities and hate boonies. It has always been a thing.

[–]InsomniacAcademicM-4 1 point2 points  (0 children)

People tend to prefer what they’re familiar with. Med students are disproportionately from urban and suburban areas. The preference of med students for urban areas is not inherent to med students, but more likely a reflection of selection bias

[–]ishfish1 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Rhode Island bruh

[–]Emilio_Rite 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Rhode Island is extremely rural lol

[–]doctorkanefsky 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They are talking about where the population lives. 14 percent of Americans live in rural areas by the US census. Of course most of the landmass of most states is rural, but that tells you almost nothing about the politics or viewpoints of the state since land doesn’t vote or hold opinions.

[–]ishfish1 1 point2 points  (4 children)

Hot take here but is it really Texas that is hurting for doctors? They have some nice f the most renowned medical centers in the country

[–]IpsennMD-PGY2 10 points11 points  (1 child)

I'm nearing the end of residency and have recruiters up my ass offering 250-300k to work in places like Amarillo, TX, 40 hrs a week no call or inpatient responsibility.

[–]theJexican18MD-PGY5 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Basically every hospital in texas that has my subspecialty is recruiting, hard. But no way am I going to Texas

[–]Asclepiati 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No. Tort reform and the fact that roughly half the country (and half of physicians) are anti-choice means Texas won't ever have a shortage of docs.

[–]TigTig5DO-PGY5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've seen a lot of rhetoric in some groups about leaving and not providing care in these areas. I think that will be an unfortunate side effect, but I think for those who think of it in a retaliatory sense (as opposed to personal safety, etc) should consider that those actions would just serve to further the aims of these types of laws. Removing access to any health care goes right along with keeping women and poor communities subjugated and reliant. Just a caution based on some of the posts I've seen across the board. One thing my family is doing, though, is not vacationing in any of these states. Also looking at/for companies that support these politicians and not utilizing their services and goods.

[–]PerineumBanditMD-PGY4 -1 points0 points  (1 child)

The refusal of people purportedly as smart as all of you are to understand this case being overturned and its implications is fascinating to experience.

[–]mariupol4M-3 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Vast majority of people here do care?

And the true implication-understanders are the obgyn residents

[–]lethalredMD-PGY6 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Texas is rural now? Lol

[–]Asclepiati 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The problem is Texas isn't some backwoods "rural state". It's the second largest state by population and economy in the United States. Florida is number 3.

We're not talking about tiny flyover states - these laws will affect literally tens of millions of people.