Problems without borders

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DoctorShortages---Image-10

The doctor shortages are a global problem. There are many reasons why there are not enough doctors. The stress of the job, the intensity they must work in and how they need to always be available in case that a person needs their assistance. These are some of the main reasons why doctors quit their jobs.

There are other problems too. Like the money problem but I wouldn’t like to get into this very much. I see that it is a controversial opinion on how money is the issue, and it isn’t. From my point of view, it depends on the country we are talking about. If we are talking about a poor country the money would be a reason why there are doctors shortages. Some people can’t afford to go to medical school. The equipment they must use is expensive and the country can’t afford it. I read an article, some days ago, about a man who died because there were no syringes in the hospital and because they couldn’t collect his blood for tests, he died while waiting. This shouldn’t have happened; my mother is a doctor and she told me about the process of colleting equipment and that they need to make sure they have this before they carry out procedures so to me it seems like this an unforgivable mistake.

On the other hand, the rich countries may not have to worry about such problems. But they may have other problems. For example, the USA or the UK are very rich countries and still have healthcare issues. The most common is that the doctors quit their job because they are overworked or that their stress level is too high. In these countries the appointments are hard to get because there are not enough doctors to deal with the demand of a lack of spaces. Or people who have appointments don’t call to cancel them. My teacher told me that appointment letters in the UK tell you how much money is wasted for cancelled appointments and even though they have these warnings some people still don’t care. I find this selfish.

It’s scary to think that one day we might be in a doctor crisis where we have nobody to help us. I am glad that we are not in one now and there might be a solution. I can’t really think of a short-term solution to be honest. But it is scaring me to think that one day we might not be able to get the help from doctors that we need.

What do you think we can do about this?

Comments (1)

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  • One of the major problems doctors face is overwork and stress and just like you rightly said inspiring_shrimp, we need to think of a solution to the problem as soon as possible before the matter gets out of hand. We should not wait until the doctor shortage gets to a point where we might not be able to see a doctor to help us and give us medical treatment. I think a solution to this problem could be for doctors to work alongside robots. The world has gone technological. In a time where there is a rapid increase in the population of the world, there is a need for the application of the innovations of man to help solve problems. I say robots should be introduced into the healthcare system to work alongside doctors ad help them treat patients.
    On one hand, there are many people that are Robophobic(having a fear of robots) so saying we should leave the work of doctors completely in the hands of robots might not sit well with some patients. Many people might have a problem with that because robots are not humans, they cannot feel or relate to a problem the way a human can. They do not have emotions and cannot empathize so people will not be comfortable telling them personal information. People are also worried that robots will malfunction one day maybe in the process of treating a patient and make a mistake causing the life of someone.
    On the other hand, doctors are really overworked and stressed and they need all the help they can get. Robots would be a great help to doctors.
    Putting these two factors into consideration, I think robots working alongside robots would be the best solution to this problem. The robots would be supervised by the doctors. That way, patients will feel safer and they will be less skeptical about the use of robots.

    In summary,
    Robots alone: People will be skeptical and find it very risky.
    Doctors alone: They will be overworked and stressed.
    Robots+Doctors: Solves both problems. Doctors will be less stressed and people will be less skeptical about robots.