The MSS Task Force for the training of doctors Debt data have been verified in the last 20 years by the Association of American Medical Colleges, the federal government and other sources about the cost of medical education and debt medical students. The main results are: the closure of the average medical student debt is growing faster than the consumer price index (CPI) for the past 20 years, tuition at public and private schools has increased more rapidly that the International Criminal Court over these 20 years. If not left, exorbitant amounts of these obligations can only relate to delays in the choice of specialty chemicals, raising the fence and a reduction in the number of minorities in medicine.

Debt Statistics student

* $ 139517 – According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the average educational level of indebtedness of the debt graduates of the class of 2007. The average indebtedness of students from medical studies in 2007 grew by 6.9 percent over the previous year.
* 75.5 percent of the graduates have debts of at least $ 100000
* 87.6 percent of the graduate students in medicine lead loans

Source: AAMC 2007 graduation questionnaire

Why medical training has increased indebtedness

Medical Education, driven by the growing indebtedness of tuition. AAMC data show that the average private medical school tuition is 50 percent (in real-time dollars) in the 20 years between 1984 and 2004. Median of public education and medical costs have risen by 133 percent over the same period. Other past 20 years show similar trends. Figures 1 and 2 (PDF, 23kB) show a solid increase of the curve of rising tuition and debt-both faster than inflation.

Teaching is a source of growing indebtedness. Other causes are as follows:

* Interest on loans in time for the total cost of student debt
* Students in medical school debt of more education and training Undergraduate
* The increase in the number of “non-traditional” students who have dependent children

Nuisant the debt crisis of students and patients

Increased debt burdens not only of medical students, but the effect on the entire health system. Some correlations have been found:

Reduction-based doctors

* Students with high debt are less likely to follow Family Practice and Primary Care specialty and try to specialties with higher incomes or more free time

Because of the diversity of the medical staff

* The cost of tuition may prevent students and people from low-income/minority with other financial obligations, the Faculty of Medicine
* Arts diversity is necessary to meet the needs of the diverse and multicultural populations of patients

The promotion of the uncertainty of behaviour doctor

* Residents of the debt higher Monday
o Increases fatigue and can contribute to a medical error (see Figure 4 (PDF, 39KB)
* More guilt and cynicism leads to depression among residents (see Figure 5 (PDF, 41KB)

How can we blame?

The user was with recommendations for legislative and administrative measures to resolve the debt crisis of medical training. These recommendations focused on the management of education, the most important part of the cost of education, but also a number of relatively simple administrative measures can be taken immediately and cheaply for each medical school.

At the federal level

* Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act
* Ensure adequate funding for the Title VII health professions programs in 2009 GJ Labour, Health and Human Services, Education and Related loans and the expansion and protection of the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) program loan repayment
o AMA Read the letter (PDF, 60KB) the chairman of the Senate appropriations
* Extension exempt from the state of medical scholarships

State legislative options

* College-caps
* State tax deductions for interest on loans
* State Department’s loan repayment

The reform of the medical school only fiscal policy

* College-caps
* $ 50,000 private schools
* $ 30,000 public institutions
* Evolution fee policy

Innovative strategies for the reduction of the Student Loan needs

* The increase in grants and scholarships
* Collaborate graduate / Undergraduate debts
* Collective purchasing reduce costs student