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Previous Volume 350:69-75 January 1, 2004 Number 1 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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The profession of medicine has taken its members on a wild ride during the past century: a slow, glorious climb in well-being followed by a steep, stomach-churning fall. In the decades after World War II, sociologists portrayed American doctors as the lucky heirs to a golden age of medicine. They were surrounded by admiring assistants, loyal patients, and respectful colleagues and had full autonomy in their work, job security, and a luxurious income. This era was short-lived. By the 1980s, newspaper headlines proclaimed that many of the nation's "dispirited doctors" were considering bailing out of medicine, and subsequent observers have . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Subjective Indicators

Surveys

Demographic Characteristics

Medical Specialty

Objective Indicators

Numbers of Applicants to Medical Schools

Unionization and Work Stoppages

Causes

Managed Care

The Malpractice Crisis

Disparate Expectations

Lack of Time

Doctors' Role as Double Agents

The Historical Context

Dissatisfaction with Other Professions

Possible Solutions

Source Information

From St. Luke's–Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York, and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, N.Y.

Address reprint requests to Dr. Zuger at abzug@panix.com.

Related Letters:

Dissatisfaction with Medical Practice
Poses R. M., Sokolyk S. M., Margolis R. S., Basch P., Zuger A.
Extract | Full Text | PDF  
N Engl J Med 2004; 350:1357-1359, Mar 25, 2004. Correspondence

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