OPPORTUNITY: UC Riverside plans to give full scholarships to five lucky admitted students of its new medical school.
By Matt Kaye, Staff Writer
The time has come when the majority of doctors have reached the retirement age. These doctors leave behind not only their numerous vacancies across the nation but also a higher demand for health care in the coming years. The so-called wave of baby boomers creeps close to the period of retirement; thousands will soon leave their jobs, creating shortages that the next generation must fill—a generation that hardly compares in size. Add to that the accessibility of health care that the Affordable Care Act will provide, and there will be an even greater need for physicians in the coming years.
In order to reduce the effects of the shortage, schools are taking action. They now offer more money and opportunity than ever before. The University of California, Riverside (UCR) is among the schools with a great interest and willingness to lead the Inland Empire into a healthy future. With the needs of future patients in mind, the school plans to give five full scholarships out of donated funds that the school has received since the establishment of the partial medical school many years ago. For thirty years, UCR’s medical school only offered the first two years of medical school, after which students would often continue their education at another university, such as the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Now, UCR will annually award these scholarship opportunities to five of its prospective medical students, students that will be able to receive their medical degrees from UCR. In exchange for this offer of paid tuition, these students must remain in the surrounding areas of Riverside as newly graduated doctors for a minimum of five years.
The requirements also include a focus on primary care rather than more specialized fields of medicine such as anesthesiology. This requirement comes into play with the addition of health care recipients who will now have regular visits with a primary care physician. The most concerning aspect of the future of health care is the lack of balance between the number of doctors and the number of patients. This scholarship initiative plans to help equalize the expected shortfall of patient care. “We will probably have a 5,000 to 6,000 physician deficit in 10 years no matter what anyone does,” the dean of UCR’s Medical School, Dr. Richard Olds, said. Olds, like many, feels that the health care gap is far too real, and that it is only a matter of time before we see it affect the entire system of primary practice.
For students at Poly and other high schools, this sparks new initiative to pursue careers in the medical field. Similar scholarships in prior years have already led students to choose the school of medicine. The attendance of UCR’s medical school has grown over the past few years, with class sizes numbering 48, 72 and 96 in subsequent years according to the Medical School Scholarship Fund at UCR, and these high numbers are expected to increase.
The prospect of a nearly free education and a reserved job opening is something hard to pass up. This scholarship program grants that opportunity and tries to limit the negative effects of the predicted future of health care, something the approaching years will greatly need.