Dr. Jonathan Tyes once struggled to imagine a future in medicine for himself.
asserted
Tyes → struggle → himself
A first-generation college student and the oldest of 10 siblings, Tyes was raised by his grandparents in Cleveland.
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Tyes → raise → Cleveland
While studying biology at Morehouse College, he was a few credits from graduation when his grandmother died.
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grandmother → study → graduation
Grief and financial hardship threatened to end both his education and his dream of becoming the first physician in his family.
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Grief → threaten → family
Instead, he spent years rebuilding his path.
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he → spend → path
He worked throughout school, served those in need as a community health worker, completed medical mission trips to Ghana, became a registered pharmacy technician, and refused to abandon his goal of practicing medicine.
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He → work → medicine
Eventually, as a non-traditional student in his mid-thirties, he got into medical school.
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he → get → school
Though his family faced homelessness, gun violence, and other tribulations throughout his education, he stayed the course.
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he → face → course
Financial support from our organization, National Medical Fellowships (NMF), helped him remain enrolled and continue his training.
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him → help → training
Now, Tyes is an anesthesiology resident at the University of Buffalo, while at the same time pursuing a master of public health degree at Harvard.
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Tyes → pursue → Harvard
America cannot afford to lose future physicians like Tyes.
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America → afford → Tyes
The health care workforce emergency that experts have warned about for years is no longer approaching—it is here.
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it → warn → years
Over the next decade, the U.S. is projected to face a shortage of more than 700,000 health care professionals, including physicians, registered nurses, and licensed practical nurses.
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U.S. → project → physicians
At the same time, countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and the United Arab Emirates are actively recruiting U.S.-trained clinicians through streamlined licensing pathways, placing additional pressure on an already strained workforce.
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countries → recruit → workforce
The consequences are being felt in every community.
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consequences → feel → community
Whether you live in a rural town in Alabama or a high-rise in Manhattan, chances are you have experienced the shortage firsthand.
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you → live → shortage
You may have waited months for a pediatric appointment, spent hours in an emergency department hallway with an aging parent, or postponed care for your own chronic condition because the next available appointment was too far in the future.
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appointment → wait → future
Today, the average wait time to see a physician is 38 days—nearly three times what many experts consider medically appropriate.
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experts → see → physician
Health care is built on people, yet the nation’s largest employment sector is buckling under the weight of burnout, mistrust, underinvestment, and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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sector → build → pandemic
According to a recent Harris Poll, more than half of health care workers are considering leaving their jobs, with many planning to exit the profession altogether.
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many → accord → profession
The math isn’t adding up.
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math → add → ?
We are losing experienced professionals faster than we are preparing the next generation.
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we → lose → generation
We are asking more of those who remain while offering them fewer resources and less support.
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who → ask → resources
If we fail to address the root causes of this crisis—professional burnout, crushing educational debt, and declining reimbursement—we will not have a health care system capable of caring for our growing aging population, regardless of ZIP code or socioeconomic status.
Yet instead of reinforcing the foundation, we are pulling bricks from the bottom.
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we → fail → bottom
Federal health spending is being slashed.
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spending → slash → ?
Programs that support research, expand access for low-income families, and strengthen public health infrastructure are being dismantled.
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that → support → infrastructure
Recent federal spending changes—including the passing of H.R. 1—are projected to increase the number of uninsured Americans, squeeze already fragile health systems, raise health care costs, and force community health centers and hospitals to shutter.
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changes → include → centers
The impact extends beyond today’s workforce to tomorrow’s.
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impact → extend → tomorrow
Changes to federal student lending that began in July 2026 will dramatically restrict access to financing for “professional” education.
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that → begin → education
Medical students will face annual loan caps of $50,000, despite the fact that medical education costs exceed $286,000 at public institutions, on average, and approach $390,000 at private schools.
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costs → face → schools
Nursing students will face even tighter annual borrowing limits of $20,500, creating additional barriers to entering one of the nation’s most essential professions.
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students → face → professions
These policies risk pushing brilliant students away from medicine, nursing, and other health professions altogether.
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policies → risk → medicine
They will discourage careers in primary care and hollow out the very specialties communities need most.
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communities → discourage → specialties
And when we restrict who can afford to become a doctor or nurse, we ultimately restrict who gets cared for.
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who → restrict → ?
A health care workforce that reflects a broad range of socioeconomic backgrounds and lived experiences is better equipped to understand patients, build trust, and improve outcomes.
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that → reflect → outcomes
This moment demands collective action: We must reimagine pathways into health care careers, confront physician burnout head-on, and close the health and wealth gaps that weaken our system.
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that → demand → system
We must prevent financial barriers from determining who has the opportunity to become a health care leader.
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who → prevent → opportunity
And most importantly, we must ensure that the next generation of health care professionals receives the financial, professional, and community support necessary to complete training and return to serve the communities that need them most.
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that → ensure → them
The Aporia
