Empty Credentialism is Hurting Medicine

As an attending physician at one of the “best” (i.e. highest-ranked) hospitals in the U.S., I work with a good number of residents (medical school graduates who are now completing their clinical training). They are, in short, amazing. Their schedules are onerous, their pay meager. On top of that, the practice of medicine has become dizzyingly complex, with a vast array of drugs and devices and an aging patient population whose health needs are greater than ever. Every day, I’m impressed at how our residents—intelligent and hardworking—meet these challenges head on.