DO WE REALLY NEED MORE PEDIATRICIANS?

Abstract

For some years we have been convinced that the United States was suffering from a great lack of pediatricians. Every overworked pediatrician shares this view. A recent review argues that double the current number of pediatricians are needed for the country. But there are some straws in the wind that make me believe we should reconsider this current "conventional wisdom." In planning for health manpower, as in other fields, we have usually been guilty of preparing to fight the last war. We would be ill advised to overproduce pediatricians, for to do so would risk the same disenchantment among pediatricians that has occurred with the current overproduction of acrospace engineers and some Ph.D. scientists.