Best States for Physician Doctor Job in Primary Care (Internal Medicine and Family Practice)?

Question

Seeking information on best states, regions, cities or hospital systems for a practice opportunity in primary care, Internal Medicine and Family Practice? Include comments on practice conditions such as restrictive covenants, patient loads, sustainability of practice, stability of practice, legal issues etc.

PS: This question is specific to US.

Answer 1

Ever think of moving to Canada??? All our docs moved to the USA

Answer 2

Emergency physician, Director of Emergency Services, and Chief of Staff Emergency medicine is a four-year residency. I started out planning on Family Practice, but found the mix in emergency medicine more interesting. I couldn't even guess at costs these days. I went to medical school on a scholarship from the armed forces, and for four years of medical school I repaid Uncle Sam with four years of practice in uniform. The intellectual stimulation is a major reward. The big "saves" that seem to impress people are just part of the job. It feels good, but isn't a big deal once you realize that we don't really save anybody. You rarely hear it any more, but there once was a saying that God saves and the doctor sends the bill. It's still true. The little educational things are more rewarding, and little things like a nursemaid's elbow, which scares parents but is immediately and easily fixed, can always give a little warm chuckle. Personally, the biggest drawback is in switching back and forth between day and night shifts, which isn't a big problem for younger guys, but gets to be a problem as we age. Professionally, on a day-to-day basis, there's often a divergence between patients' expectations and what's reasonable or even possible. And patients now seem to believe TV commercials over physicians, so they're really disappointed to find that we can't cure their colds. On a larger scale, we're the nation's "safety net" for medical care, and we're responsible for doing the impossible with limited resources. Emergency medicine in reality is a public utility, like fire or police protection, but it's treated in the same way as regular businesses, and with forty-odd million uninsured or underinsured people in the US, that's inevitably a problem. Another drawback to the job is that I hate paperwork and administration, and every time I take an administrative position I promise myself it'll be my last, but that's my own fault, of course. I've been doing this since before emergency medicine was a recognized specialty. The people of the US are rightly more concerned about access to care, the politicians worry about cost containment. Too many people can't get primary care, and too many emergency departments can't get specialist coverage, because of a relative shortage of physicians, while insurers, government agencies, and even some hospitals think there's an oversupply. We need a concensus on how much medical care we want and are willing to pay for. I'm not doing any volunteer work right now, but I'm where I am after having headed south as a volunteer after Katrina.

Answer 3

Surely in a good medical library there is this sort of statistical information. Call and talk to a medical librarian.