More medical students enter dermatology, leave other specialties

The Detroit News on Tuesday examined how "droves" of medical students nationwide are opting to pursue careers in dermatology "as doctors flee some of the most critical medical fields -- family practice, internal medicine and obstetrics."

According to the News, "dermatology promises good pay, flexible hours and job opportunities," while fields like internal medicine and obstetrics often are accompanied by "high malpractice rates, long hours and health insurance woes."

In addition, "[m]oney ... is a major issue" for medical students, who "easily run up more then $100,000 in education costs by the time they're ready to practice."

On average, a family practice doctor earns $155,000 a year, while dermatologists earn $197,000 annually.

Dermatologists also tend to have more insured patients, meaning they are more likely to be reimbursed for services, and they are less dependent on government subsidies to pay for treatment.

According to the News, "the movement is threatening" health care across the country.

A recent report by the American Academy of Family Physicians found that the U.S. will need 40% more doctors practicing general medicine by 2020 to care for an aging population.

Jack Resneck, an assistant professor of dermatology at the University of California-San Francisco, said, "We've certainly seen declining interest in primary care and general surgery residencies.

While I'm thrilled that our dermatology programs get to pick from the cream of the crop, I want to be sure that we have an adequate pipeline of interested students in all areas of medicine" (Terlep, Detroit News, 10/3).