Can the Fauci Effect Lead to a Larger Pool of Health Care Workers?

In 2020, there were 18% more medical-school-ready applicants than in previous years. This higher number is due to several factors, including the prominent role of Dr. Anthony Fauci as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He has been heavily featured in the news for his work in the COVID-19 crisis. At the same time, healthcare workers have also been commended for their invaluable work during the pandemic. In addition to the traditional clinician roles in healthcare, there are also many important roles in the health economics space.

According to Guy David, a professor of Health Care Management, “A lot of people who are drawn into the health care space want to have an impact on people’s well-being. You can be a patient advocate even if you’re in finance, economics, marketing or management.” He further notes that “You can come up with processes, innovations and ideas that will make health care more accessible, higher quality, more transparent, cheaper and more available. If you can do that, you will have impacted so many lives without touching a single patient. And even if you want to be a clinician, knowledge of health economics is still very valuable. You need to understand where the regulations are coming from and you need to understand why people are asking you to do things in a certain way. It’s always a good idea to take a course in health economics or study health management as a complement to being a better clinician.” Learn more here.

(Source: Knowledge at Wharton High School, 1/20/2021)