Health Care Professionals Group

What would the impact of building 200 new colleges for health care professionals be?

What if a candidate for president said we're going to build 200 new medical schools in the United States to educate more doctors, nurses and aids for our health care system. It would cost about 3% of the national health care budget including funds set aside to operate the schools permanently into the future without the need for more taxes. Do you think our government could put 3% of the health care budget into increasing the supply of doctors and nurses? Consider that the health care budget increases by more then 5% every year so a lowly 3% should be feasible right? Namesaev? - In California alone they turned away 15,000 nursing school applicants in 2007. If that is relfective of the nation it means 150,000 people were interested in becomming nurses that can not get into school. I don't know where you guys live but nursing shortages exist here - they get paid top dollar and get signing bonuses like $5k and $10k because the hospitals can't get enough of them.

Public Comments

1. The free market does just fine. There is NO shortage of nurses. There is a shortage of practicing nurses. Nurses get treated like dirt and change professions or get married to doctors. Doctors are frustrated by Long long long hours and the government telling them what they can and cannot do and they are retiring as soon as they can. "The Government is not the solution. it is the problem" (1)
2. There could be a lot of impact in ways you haven't taken into account. Where do you find the candidates to fill the classrooms? Instructors to teach? Administration to run everything and make sure they are qualified? And then once they graduate where do they go to work? What do you pay them? Are you aware of where the cost of health care comes from? Paperwork is the most expensive portion of the care. The is single doctor practice in my home town. He says there are more people working for him taking care of paperwork than assisting him taking care of patients. Buildings are just a small portion of what the cost of new healthcare professionals would amount to.
3. Throw in tuition, and it will make a significant impact. In other words, use socialized medicine.