To address the Valley’s shortage of doctors, the University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix has a plan. The college’s dean, Dr. Guy Reed, said increasing the number of residency positions will help. Residencies involve post-graduate work for new doctors to train in specialized fields.
“And to achieve that we’ve really partnered with our primary affiliation partner, Banner, over the course of now, three or four years to build out a strategic plan to add 320 new residents to Phoenix,” Reed told the Maricopa Association of Governments.
That would double its current number. Limited federal funding is available through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to cover some costs in areas of high need, like Maricopa County.
“It’s money on the table that we don’t want to leave left on the table to support this physician education and retain these physicians here,” Reed said.
Experts say increasing the number of residencies can help ease the shortage because physicians will often end up practicing where they complete their training.
