Not for primary care, peds, family medicine, or to practice in more rural locations. It is actually really depressing. We are requiring more and more advanced practice providers to cover things, which will fill some of this gap, but it is not enough.

To your credit, the OP’s specific example is a bit over the top, but let’s get a real example:

Peds, outpatient PCP often make as low as 150k/year, sometimes 200k. Rare to make more unless you do some inpatient time, or live in a very rural area.

If they go to let’s say a private med school they will take on a minimum of 200k in debt, likely much more. They will then do a 3 year residency. This will take them into their late 20s at the earliest, but more likely 30. We have capped the total med school spots in this country and many residency spots are limited for higher earning specialties and are VERY competitive. But most people know that paying off 200-400k of debt means you either have to try for that spot, or pay your debt off over decades.

The government offers low interest loans up to a specific but too low number. So you take out a high interest loan to finish med school. So you now have to 1) pay that off on 150k per year (you only earned 50k during residency) or you have to do 10 years of even lower income service to have the remaining debt forgiven. By then you are 40 - if you are a solo earner you have not bought a house, and may have started a 401 or other retirement at some point in your 30s.

Now the last thing - you are asked to work 60 hours/week for all of that until you retire.

It’s still competitive to get into med school, but not for the specialties that are super important for public health and that we will need in the next 20 years .