Turn on cookies to sign in
Signing in saves your progress to your Curie account. We can only do that with cookies on — turn them on to continue.
America's gastroenterology workforce isn't shrinking — it's just in the wrong places. A new ACG report flags rural care deserts, anesthesia shortages, and undertrained advanced practice providers (APPs) as the field's biggest pressure points. The fix? Smarter distribution, better APP integration, and rethinking sedation training.
The American College of Gastroenterology's Workforce of the Future Task Force has released a report identifying three interconnected challenges threatening GI care delivery: geographic maldistribution of physicians, anesthesia workforce constraints, and gaps in advanced practice provider (APP) integration. While the overall number of gastroenterologists may seem adequate, rural communities are left with significant care deserts — and simply training more GI specialists hasn't solved the problem.
On the anesthesia front, rising demand for propofol-level sedation has outpaced supply, while GI trainees are getting less exposure to conscious sedation — creating a growing dependency on an already-strained specialty. Meanwhile, APPs are increasingly managing complex GI patients with little specialty-specific training or mentorship, a gap the report says must be urgently addressed through structured onboarding and career development programs.
Key Takeaways:
Why it matters: With colorectal cancer screening now starting at age 45 and noninvasive tests driving more colonoscopy referrals, the GI system needs to handle higher patient volumes — especially in rural areas. Addressing workforce gaps now is critical to ensuring timely follow-up and catching cancers at earlier stages.
