POSSIBLE DOCTOR SHORTAGE Loan Debt Could Create Doctor Shortage In WV
Reported by: Associated Press
Web Producer: Heath Harrison
Reported: Jan. 28, 2013 3:15 PM EST
Updated: Jan. 28, 2013 3:36 PM EST
Eyewitness News Photo
Charleston
, Kanawha County
, West Virginia
An official at West Virginia University's medical school said rising student loan debt could create a shortage of doctors in the state.
Dr. Norman Ferrari, vice dean of the medical school, said the debt is beginning to influence which specialty students choose to pursue. And, it could theoretically stop people from applying to medical school.
Ferrari tells the Charleston Daily Mail that some students might like to become family doctors. But they're choosing higher-paying specialties such as a cardiologist or an oncologist.
A recent report by the Higher Education Policy Commission said West Virginia medical school students graduated with an average $186,000 in student loan debt in 2012. That figure doesn't include student debt they may have incurred while earning their bachelor's degrees.
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