The authors review 12 reasons for the doctor shortage, the effect it will have on health care delivery, and what can be done to address it. They also examine related health care staffing issues, such as the growing differences between "Generation X" physicians and the "Old School," how the influx of women into medicine is affecting health care delivery, what doctors earn, the emergence of temporary, "locum tenens" physicians, and why hospitals and physicians can't seem to get along. Written in a direct, informal style and punctuated with humor, this is essential reading for anyone concerned about health care delivery in the United States and anyone interested in the medical profession.