Dragon Fruit: Medical school graduate sees nearly all of his $440,000 in student loans discharged
So, a dragon fruit, admittedly I’ve never tried it, according to sources, is a fruit that looks succulent and tasty and reported as follows:
“Dragon fruit, otherwise known as pitaya, is hands-down, one of the best-looking fruits on the planet. Native to Mexico and Central America, the pitaya not only has a fantastic nickname but also looks like it should taste like the sweetest, most succulent fruit you’ve ever had — and it’s even good for you, being high in antioxidants and nutrient-dense.
Such a shame, then, that it might be one of the biggest let-downs on the planet, too. Tasting the flesh inside for the first time ought to be counted as a rite of passage for food-lovers because once you experience disappointment on that scale, you’ll learn never to raise your expectations so high ever again. Pitaya is mild to the point of utter tastelessness; as bland as bland gets. Don’t bother.”
So What?
Well, the article title at first glance makes you think the physician who graduated is a lucky dog. $400K!!! Wow, who wouldn’t want that paid off or discharged? However, enticing as this seems, the article is more about this physician’s plight of not Matching into residency and having to work menial jobs to support himself. This is where the bad taste like the Dragon Fruit comes in. Why?? Especially when all the data showing physician shortages etc., which according to AAMC:
The overall projections in the sixth annual study, The Complexities of Physician Supply and Demand: Projections from 2018-2033, are up from last year’s report, which predicted a shortage of up to 121,900 physicians by 2032. The new study, which advances the calculations by one year, projects shortfalls in primary care of between 21,400 and 55,200 physicians, and in specialty care of between 33,700 and 86,700 physicians.
Well, those of us who follow the topic know why. The residency bottleneck. More graduates and IMGs than residency spots. We know that. Dr. Seth Koeut in the article seems like a nice enough guy, but NRMP Match data (https://mk0nrmp3oyqui6wqfm.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/MM_Results_and-Data_2020-1.pdf) shows:
This report summarizes data from the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) 2020 Main Residency Match, the largest in NRMP history when measured by the number of positions offered (37,256) and filled (35,258). The 34,266 PGY-1 positions offered constituted an all-time high and an increase of 2,072 over 2019; more than half the increase was attributable to growth in Family Medicine and Internal Medicine. The numbers of registrants (44,959) and active applicants (40,084) also were all-time highs, with 356 more registrants and 1,708 more active applicants compared to 2019.
Hmmmmmmm,
Incidentally when I graduated in 1982 from med school, the astute AAMC said there was going to be an “OVERSUPPLY” of physicians by the 1990’s. I think they are a bunch of idiots that don’t know what the Hades they are doing!
Kurt
I wonder if maybe this is good news. We are finally seeing the courts allowing the discharge of educational debt in bankruptcy. I can’t think of a better way to control college cost and inject some common sense back into colleges. The bloat at college is pathetic. Educational cost inflation is worse than health care inflation.
Get students with unaffordable debt, or with worthless navel-gazing degrees. Get more judges allowing the discharge of debt. Colleges will rein in cost, and think twice about offering worthless educational programs.
The problem is the government guaranteeing loans for students that could not get into a US medical school. Taxpayer backed loans should not be able to be used for any PRIVATE school. Private schools should guarantee their own loans, and thus would be careful who they accept.
The opposite will be like Italy where you have thousands of unemployed doctors because anyone can go to medical school. Or like the US where we have hundreds of journalists who attended expensive private schools and now work at Starbucks because we dont need that many journalists, and spend there time protesting for Government eliminating student loan debt. They are all told to live their dream. 50 years ago college graduates were fewer, and indicated intelligence and thus any graduate did well. Now that we have doubled the number of graduates and lowered standards, the market says we dont need them.