Shine on, Young Physician-Scientist.

Physician-scientists have been recognized as an important piece for the advancement of medicine by being translators of medical research. Despite this recognized role, physician-scientists in the United States have decreased from 5% of all physician workforce in 1987 to 1.5% in 2014. Why, in spite of their relevance, have physician-scientists become a rara avis in medical research? It is a complex matter, and I don’t expect to provide a universal answer in this short column. However, I hope to raise awareness of this subject from a trainee’s perspective by scrutinizing the hurdles that I (and some of my young colleagues) have to surpass during graduate medical education to become a physician-scientist in cardiovascular research. I have decided to dissect the obstacles in the graduate medical education system, which in my experience, dampen the recruitment (and success) of young physician-scientists into trainee-related, program/institutional support and funding.