One reason that Mathew Alexander, MD, MPP, Alister Martin, & I went to the Harvard Kennedy School of Government was because of physician alums like David Blumenthal, Don Berwick, and Raul Ruiz who are tackling important health issues. So, we (+Jesper K.) asked ourselves: what do physicians with a policy degree end up doing? Link: https://bit.ly/4c46JBR We found that more and more physicians are pursuing policy training. From 1960-2022, the number of physicians pursuing a policy degree steadily increased. If current trends continue, even more physicians will complete a policy degree from 2020 to 2029. We also found that 93% of physicians who obtain a policy degree pursue a clinical residency and most also maintain an active medical license. Internal medicine, surgery, and emergency medicine residencies were the most commonly chosen. About 1/3 become primary care providers! Interestingly, these physicians are more likely to hold positions in academia, clinical leadership, and the private sector than in nonprofits and government. This is potentially concerning given the role of the public and nonprofit sectors in delivering and managing health. We discuss these findings, their implications, and our recommendations here: https://bit.ly/4c46JBR Many thanks to the Harvard Kennedy School for their support, Ivan Lopez for his guidance, and the entire team for their incredible work. cc: Neel Shah, Dhruv Khullar, Atul Nakhasi, MD, MPP, Jamaji C. Nwanaji-Enwerem, MD. PhD. MPP., Raquel Sofía Sandoval, Okechi Boms, LaShyra “Lash” Nolen, MD, MPP, Ayotomiwa Ojo, Jalen Benson, Jay Bhatt, Rishi Wadhera, Alex Pomerantz
I’d be interested to know if there were any opportunities for community service during your time at HKS where students would engage with nonprofits and even contribute some scholarly work. If so, I’d be happy to connect with the folks leading this, as my colleague Daniel Palazuelos, MD, MPH and I help co-lead the HMS Office for Community Centered Medical Education for this very reason!
Terrific work
Amazing work, y’all!
Dean for Medical Education & Herb T. Abelson Professor @ UChicago
4moInteresting work! I got my policy degree after residency - not sure if you looked at this but the timing may predict different career trajectories.