The need for quality medical care outstrips the capacity of local providers in many cities and towns across the United States. Remote Area Medical (RAM) is one organization working to meet this demand, recruiting volunteers in medicine, dentistry, optometry and beyond to donate their time and energy by participating in coordinated free health care events. At a major health camp in Los Angeles in August, over 15,000 people turned out to receive care, but RAM was only able to provide services to less than half of the people who showed up. The problem? In California, as in nearly every other state, state laws prohibit physicians and other care providers from coming across state lines to secure a temporary medical license to participate in these health camps. With the leadership of founder Stan Brock, RAM is working hard to loosen these restrictions and provide an opportunity for altruistic practitioners to lend a hand. Mr. Brock details these efforts and explains what you can do to help in a conversation with hosts Dr. Michael Greenberg and Dr. Matthew Birnholz.
Dr. Greenberg and Dr. Birnholz assess the back-and-forth over the most recent HIV vaccine trial, and give you their reaction to a new survey measuring how physicians really feel about their career choice, lifestyle, family time and more: are many of us more content with our profession and the opportunities it affords than we say we are?
