Not Otherwise Specified Undervalued
Nov 12, 2025
Mark Friedberg, a former primary care physician and current health services researcher, joins an anonymous first-year medical student, C, to discuss the systemic undervaluation of primary care. They dive into the cultural pushback against choosing generalism and how medical education often neglects primary care exposure. Friedberg shares research showing disparities in resourcing and reimbursement, shedding light on the burdens that PCPs bear. C emphasizes how primary care can address access and trust in healthcare while they both confront the troubling cycle of burnout among practitioners.
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Dismissive Comment In Teaching Moment
- Lisa Rosenbaum recounts reflexively telling a medical student he was "too smart for primary care."
- That offhand dismissal reflected a long-internalized cultural devaluation of primary care.
Mississippi Delta Clinicians Inspired Career
- C describes shadowing clinicians in the Mississippi Delta and seeing primary care physicians act as trusted, frontline heroes.
- That experience drove her commitment to primary care despite peers calling it an "easy" choice.
Exposure Shapes Specialty Prestige
- C argues prestige judgments reflect exposure to flashy specialties rather than true difficulty.
- She notes students rarely shadow primary care, biasing perceptions of what counts as hard work.