Resident education and its effect on surgical shortages.

In the last 100 years there has been extensive debate regarding the physician workforce. The initial consensus was there were too many physicians in the United States. The Flexner Report in 1910 and the Report of the Commission on Medical Education of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) in 1932 both concluded that there were too many physicians being trained. These reports were the main driving force to reduce the number of medical schools during the first half of the 20th century.