Physician Retraining & Reentry Empowers Retired and Inactive Doctors to Help Resolve the Nation’s Growing Shortage of Primary Care Physicians

SAN DIEGO, May 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Physician Retraining & Reentry (PRR; http://www.prrprogram.com) today announced its online educational program designed to help solve the growing shortage of primary care physicians. Created in collaboration with UC San Diego School of Medicine faculty, PRR empowers experienced physicians with the tools needed to secure primary care positions in understaffed health centers across the country. With more than 30 million Americans projected to obtain health insurance through the Affordable Care Act[1], and 10,000 Americans becoming Medicare eligible every day[2], the U.S. physician shortage is estimated to reach a staggering 130,000 by 2025[3].

In a concerted effort to address the country's shortage of primary care practitioners, retired UC San Diego School of Medicine professor and private-practice physician, Dr. Leonard Glass, teamed up with experts in family medicine and internal medicine, educational design and physician competency assessment from the university. Together, the team created a retraining program for experienced and highly motivated physicians who are interested in practicing general medicine at a conveniently located, understaffed health center.

"The Physician Retraining and Reentry program deliver the latest in primary care medical knowledge to participants, and utilizes educational methodologies to confirm that the material is mastered. Physicians completing the program will have mastered the medical knowledge and diagnostic skills necessary to serve as outstanding general practitioners," said Dr. David Bazzo, chief medical officer, PRR. "Our number one goal is to ensure all program participants have been educated to allow them to deliver outstanding care to the growing number of patients entering the healthcare system everyday."

The PRR curriculum consists of 15 online courses that cover a wide range of critical subject matter from cardiology to dermatology, medical records and more. Participants are able to work through each course at an individualized pace giving them ample time to master each subject before taking the program's final examination.

Upon completion, graduates are awarded up to 180 hours of AMA PRA Category 1 credits^TM from the UC San Diego School of Medicine. The PRR team then directs graduates to conveniently located health centers in desperate need of expertly trained staff. These health centers include community clinics, collegiate clinics, industrial clinics, emerging chain store clinics, hospital group clinics, retail clinics, military clinics and urgent care centers.

The PRR program offers an outstanding pathway to general practice for a variety of experienced physicians including: retired physicians, or physicians nearing retirement, who wish to transition to part-time work; working specialists interested in offering primary care, and physicians who took a leave of absence to start a family and are ready to return to work, and physicians looking to retrain in a different specialty.

"I was eager to return to clinical practice after 19 years working as a physician executive," said Dr. Richard Weiss, PRR's first graduating physician. "As a board-certified internist, I thought it would be easy to find a job, but I met a few challenges along the way. After completing the PRR Program, I was hired as a full-time locum tenens doctor on a pathway to potential permanent hire." 

For more information regarding how PRR prepares retired and inactive doctors for vacant primary care positions nationwide, visit http://www.prrprogram.com.

About Physician Retraining and Reentry
Created by professors and physicians from the UC San Diego School of Medicine, Physician Retraining & Reentry (PRR) isan online educational program designed to help solve the nation's growing shortage of primary care physicians. PRR accomplishes this goal by empowering experienced doctors with the tools needed to secure primary care positions in understaffed health centers across the country. To learn more about PRR, or to schedule a consultation, visit http://www.prrprogram.com.

 [1] The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), "The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: Implications for Public Health Policy and Practice," Sara Rosenbaum, JD, Jan-Feb 2011, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3001814/ 
[2] Pew Research, "Baby Boomers Retire," Dec 2010, http://www.pewresearch.org/daily-number/baby-boomers-retire/ 
[3] Association of American Medical Colleges, "GME Funding: How to Fix the Doctor Shortage" https://www.aamc.org/advocacy/campaigns_and_coalitions/fixdocshortage/

SOURCE Physician Retraining & Reentry