THURSDAY, Nov. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Aspiring doctors are optimistic about the future of medicine, according to a report published by the National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists.
A total of 6,000 current high school students with grade point averages of 3.5 or better and with plans to pursue medical careers were surveyed in June 2013.
According to the report, 93 percent of students reported being very or somewhat optimistic about the future of medicine, with 65 percent perceiving the state of the medical profession as being on the right track. Generation Z is going into medicine because they want doctor-patient relationships (74 percent) and not job security (14.2 percent) or the prestige associated with being a physician (15 percent). They don't fear losing direction (4 percent) or the challenges of medical studies (10 percent). However, 28 percent don't know the effects of the Affordable Care Act on the future of medicine, and even among those with a close family friend who is a physician, half (51 percent) were unaware of the perceived effects of the Affordable Care Act.
"It's our obligation to mentor our future medical leaders so they know what tomorrow holds for medicine," Connie Mariano, M.D., F.A.C.P., medical director of the National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists, said in a statement. "The stakes are too high to let these young medical leaders get off track."
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