Program Tries To Alleviate Specialist Shortage in Fresno
The University of California-San Francisco, Fresno Medical Education Program could open a clinic for practicing medicine, teaching and conducting research by the end of the year, the Fresno Bee reports. The clinic would serve as a "center of excellence" to attract medical specialists to the area and help address a specialist shortage.
According to Michael Peterson, chief of medicine at UCSF-Fresno, fellows trained by faculty at the clinics likely would open practices in the community after completing their fellowships. UCSF-Fresno currently trains only medical residents.
The university will offer fellowships in specialties such as cardiology, gastroenterology and pulmonology.
Fresno County has 68.1 specialists per 100,000 residents, according to the Central Valley Health Policy Institute. The state average in 2002, the latest year for which data are available, was 81.4 specialists per 100,000 residents. There are fewer than 25 doctors per 100,000 people in Kings, Madera and Merced counties, and fewer than 32 doctors per 100,000 people in Tulare County (Anderson, Fresno Bee, 2/19).