About this episode
The U.S. has a physician shortage, created in part by a century-old reform that shut down bad medical schools. But why haven’t we filled the gap? Why are some physicians so unhappy? And which is worse: a bad doctor or no doctor at all? SOURCES: Karen Clay , professor of economics and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University. Rochelle Walensky , physician-scientist and former director of the CDC. RESOURCES: " Medical School Closures, Market Adjustment, and Mortality in the Flexner Report Era ," by Karen Clay, Grant Miller, Margarita Portnykh, and Ethan Schmick (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2025). " Application Overload — A Call to Reduce the Burden of Applying to Medical School ," by Rochelle Walensky and Loren Walensky (New England Journal of Medicine, 2025). " Challenges to the Future of a Robust Physician Workforce in the United States ," by Rochelle Walensky and Nicole McCann (New England Journal of Medicine, 2025). " The first step to addressing the physician shortage ," by Rochelle Walensky and Nicole McCann (STAT, 2025). " Physician Workforce: Projections, 2022-2037 ," (National Center for Health Workforce Analysis, 2024). “ Projected Estimates of African American Medical Graduates of Closed Historically Black Medical Schools ,” by Kendall Campbell, Irma Corral, Jhojana Infante Linares, and Dmitry Tumin ( JAMA Network, 2020). " Medical Education in the United States and Canada ," by Abraham Flexner (The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1910). EXTRAS: " Is the Air Traffic Control System Broken? " series by Freakonomics Radio (2025). " Are You Ready for the Elder Swell? " by Freakonomics Radio (2025). " Are Private Equity Firms Plundering the U.S. Economy? " by Freakonomics Radio (2023). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.