May 25, 2013
Tucked among the cornfields, windmills and water towers of Littlefield, in west Texas, Dr. Isabel Molina treats one patient after the next at Lamb Healthcare Center.
Littlefield is a small, dusty town of about 6,500 people, but Molina's two-doctor practice draws from a much larger area. She and her partner serve a total population of about 15,000, she estimates. To keep up with her patient load, Molina regularly works 13-hour days without stopping to eat.
"I usually eat breakfast over charts. I usually eat lunch over charts while I call patients back and take care of my dictations," says Molina, 38. "I do love what I do, but it is getting a lot harder to do this."
The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) estimates that there is a shortage of up to 20,000 physicians and that the deficit will grow to 100,000 physicians in the next decade...read more here.
Tucked among the cornfields, windmills and water towers of Littlefield, in west Texas, Dr. Isabel Molina treats one patient after the next at Lamb Healthcare Center.
Littlefield is a small, dusty town of about 6,500 people, but Molina's two-doctor practice draws from a much larger area. She and her partner serve a total population of about 15,000, she estimates. To keep up with her patient load, Molina regularly works 13-hour days without stopping to eat.
"I usually eat breakfast over charts. I usually eat lunch over charts while I call patients back and take care of my dictations," says Molina, 38. "I do love what I do, but it is getting a lot harder to do this."
Molina is just one of thousands of primary care doctors nationwide working in an area designated as having too few health professions to meet the needs of the population.
The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) estimates that there is a shortage of up to 20,000 physicians and that the deficit will grow to 100,000 physicians in the next decade...read more here.
