Beyond training and decision-making, AI is poised to shake up the economics of the medical profession – an area many prefer not to think about. Medicine has long been relatively protected from automation. The diagnostic reasoning and complex interpersonal skills of physicians were considered irreplaceably human, which helped justify the intensive training and high salaries doctors command. In economic terms, physicians have been both scarce and valuable because what they do i

TL;DR: Becoming a doctor in the U.S. is expensive in more ways than one. Medical school tuition and fees alone typically run from around $40,000 to $75,000 per year (public vs. private) and the median four-year cost of attendance is about $286k (public) to $391k (private). But that’s just the beginning – **most students finance these costs with loans, leading to debt often well over $200k by graduation. If you include those who had undergrad loans or who accrue interest durin

What do outcomes data say? The truth is, robust evidence directly comparing solo CRNA care to anesthesiologist care is not abundant – mainly because anesthesia care in the U.S. is very safe across the board, making differences hard to detect without huge sample sizes. That said, physician advocates highlight research that questions the supposed equivalence of CRNA care in certain contexts. For example, studies of “opt-out” states have found no improvement in access to surgica

The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” carries big implications for how future doctors finance their education and repay loans. It’s a developing story that all medical students should watch. The good news: even in the new proposed system, there are protections against runaway debt and options to make payments manageable (interest subsidies, income-based caps, etc.). The challenge: students may need to be more resourceful with funding and patient with longer repayment horizons.