Doctor Shortage

Almost half of the nation's 180,000 doctors had to register in the draft this week, and many a civilian worried about being left doctorless. In large cities, at least, he need not worry.

Only half the registered doctors are expected to pass their physical tests or be free of dependents; besides, the Army & Navy, which have over 13,000 doctors already, will take only about 18,000 more this year. According to Colonel Samuel Joseph Kopetzky, medical head of Selective Service in New York City, the doctors who are left would probably be sufficient to fill the needs of any community.

The main problem of civilian medicine, said Dr. Ray Lyman Wilbur, head of the American Medical Association's Council on Medical Education and Hospitals, is to save the doctor's time. Henceforth trained physicians will have to spend most of their time in their offices, will make only urgent house calls; chronic and convalescent patients will have to be moved out of hospitals to make room for the acutely sick; practical nurses will have to take over simple medical tasks.

To keep up the yearly output of 6,000 new doctors, the Army will now defer from the draft first-and second-year medical students. Premedical students who do good work will also be allowed to continue their studies. All deferred students will be given reserve commissions in the Army Medical Administration Corps.

Yet, in spite of these assurances, many parts of the country are worried about their medical future. Examples:

P:Several counties of Kansas have only one doctor left. The Kansas Medical Association will probably ask retired doctors to take up practice again.

P:In prosperous Westchester County, N.Y., 50 of the 950 physicians are already commissioned; by the end of the year as many as 225 may be in uniform.

P:In the last few weeks the Army & Navy have called out many Base Hospital Units which were organized by doctors & nurses in general hospitals. Many of these hospital units were founded during World War I. These units will serve in general military hospitals, similar to the base hospitals in France during the last war.

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