In the current (2023) cycle in which medical students are 'matched' to residency programs, an astounding 500-plus vacancies in emergency medicine have gone unfilled. Thanks in particular to the pandemic (and other factors, too) it is becoming an ever-less popular specialty. We can only expect emergency room waiting times and care to get worse in the future.
As to hospital ratings: Only two hospitals within 25 miles of our local zip codes have five-star Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services ratings: Inova Mount Vernon and Inova Fair Oaks. Inova Fairfax gets four, as does Sibley (but I won't pile on to the many complaints about Sibley already posted here.) In Baltimore, Union Memorial has five (and a lot of good reviews from people I know.)
Another example of how messed up our medical system is -- ER doctors were being fired during the pandemic. This year's med school graduates would have been choosing their specialties two years ago when residency graduates couldn't find jobs:
An unprecedented drop in visits to the emergency department has been ruinous to the job prospects for new doctors.
www.washingtonpost.com
Edith
- previous message - In the current (2023) cycle in which medical students are 'matched' to residency programs, an astounding 500-plus vacancies in emergency medicine have gone unfilled. Thanks in particular to the pandemic (and other factors, too) it is becoming an ever-less popular specialty. We can only expect emergency room waiting times and care to get worse in the future. [snip]
