The schools that train the doctors of tomorrow are warning that the industry is facing a crisis as a growing number of students are opting out of medical school, daunted by high debt levels, just as more and more physicians are beginning to retire.
UCLA is beginning to reach out to prospective students, trying to bring them into the field before more decide it isn’t the way to go.
Nima Nassiri, a fourth-year UCLA medical student, said he faces upward of $100,000 in debt when he’s done, the cost of attending one of the premier schools in the country.
"The level of competition is super-high, and it's much easier to make money doing other things," he said.
Rebekah Rogers is one of the luckier ones, who received a full-ride scholarship, courtesy of the Geffen School of Medicine.
But she admitted that If it weren't for that support, she may not be there.
"I would probably not want to spend the rest of my life 'paying off a dream,'" Rogers said.
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Dr. Clarence Braddock, Geffen's vice-dean of education, says it's one of the main reasons many students are opting out of medicine these days.
"The average debt at graduation for a medical student in the United States is about $180,000 to $200,000," Braddock said.
The numbers come at a time when an even bigger problem looms. More and more existing doctors are opting out too.
As many as one in three are predicted to retire in the next decade.
Among the reasons are changing technology, new requirements for re-certification and the high cost of running a practice.
This, as America's aging baby boomers will be requiring more health care.
"The question is, how do we fill that gap? How do we provide new doctors for the nation?" Braddock said.
The concern is that if these potential doctors are discouraged before they can even begin, the rest of society will definitely feel the effects 10 or 20 years down the line.
UCLA is reaching out to high schools, as well as university undergraduates, to nurture students into pre-med professions.
They want students like Jessica Pasqua -- also a full-ride scholarship winner -- to stay focused.
"There's a struggle to not only spend time studying, but spend time applying for scholarships and research grants," Pasqua said.
