Abstract

Previous work has esCmated that the US has a 12–15% undersupply of endocrinologists, with this shortage predicted to expand to 25–30% by 2020. The aim of this study was to invesCgate why medical students are not choosing to specialize in endocrinology. Survey quesConnaires were distributed to medical school students from 47 US medical schools, resulCng in 524 parCcipants (response rate ~5-­‐10%). The survey results confirm that medical students are staying away from diabetes: only seven students (1.3%) expressed an interest in endocrinology and only three of those were interested in pursuing diabetes care. Students cited the challenges of inadequate compensaCon (34.9%), lack of procedures (37.9%), and modifying paCent behavior (46%) as central factors in deterring them from specializing in diabetes. In contrast, almost half of the students (48.8%) cited the social importance of diabetes care and the pandemic status (33.4%) as reasons to enter the field, indicaCng awareness of the societal need. These data suggest that due to lack of financial incenCves, few US students plan to enter the field of endocrinology; approximately half of current endocrine fellows are foreign-­‐trained. Based on this data, we believe that increasing physician interest will require significant changes to reimbursement structure.