Greetings for Doctors

Plagued by a doctor shortage as acute as that faced by many communities, the Pentagon last week asked the Selective Service System to reinstate the doctor draft that has been suspended for the past two years. Volunteer M.D.s have decreased by 40%, and despite the Viet Nam withdrawal, the armed forces need doctors to care for 2,900,000 men. Dr. Louis M. Rousselot, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health and Environment, has twice warned the U.S. medical community that it must provide volunteers or face conscription.

Scheduled to begin in July with a demand for 868 doctors, the call-up will affect physicians under the age of 35 who have completed their internships. Nearly 80,000 physicians fall into this category. Because of deferments and other excuses, the number actually available for the draft is closer to 5,000 of which only 3,000 are likely to receive the Government's greetings.

Eager to enter practice after ten years' training, most young doctors are not enthusiastic about a two-year tour in the armed forces. Many say they will do everything possible to avoid the draft. Some plan to apply for conscientious objector status. But the chances are that most will answer the call when it comes The Army offers doctors captains' commissions at salaries of nearly $1,000 a month. Those who decline the offer face a less pleasant alternative. They can be inducted anyway, sent through basic training, and then be assigned medical duties as privates for $175 a month.

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