(I think posting this thread is okay. It discusses the topic only from an objective facts viewpoint, without getting into specific politics).
The Wikipedia article "Physicians in the United States Congress" tells us
"Physicians in the United States Congress have been a small minority of the members of Congress, with fluctuating numbers over the years. The number of physicians serving and running for Congress has risen over the last 50 years from 5 in 1960, down to a nadir of 2 in 1990, to a maximum of 21 in 2013 and a decrease to 14 in 2017." An interesting historical note:
"In 1776, 11 percent of signers of the Declaration of Independence were physicians. Likewise two (5 percent) of the 39 individuals crafting the US Constitution in 1787 were physicians ... During the first 100 years of Congress (1789–1889) 252 (or 4.6 percent) of 5405 members were physicians."And
"Possible explanations for the increase since the 1990s have been increasing health care spending, (and) increased health care reform debate in the United States, leading up to the Healthcare Reform Act."So what motivates a physician to run for office, for a seat in the U.S. Congress, for example?
According to the article:
" ... physicians have watched the profession undergo tremendous realignments that are shifting doctors' responsibilities away from patient care ... they want to have their hands right there on the handle so they can pull it one way or another ... (and) ... physicians balked at the idea of lawmakers with no medical experience making decisions that could upend the profession."Some other interesting facts about
physicians serving in the U.S. Congress:
"In 2013, three quarters of physicians in Congress were Republican, and 80% as of 2017."
"Of the 27 physicians in Congress since 2005, 93% have been men, which is in stark contrast to 70% male physicians in general, 63% were from the South (vs 35% of all Congressional members) and 26% were surgeons (vs 11% of all US physicians)."And the appeal in the eyes of the public of a physician running for office?
"The top scoring potential message for a physician was to link back to health care expertise. Because physicians work in health care on a daily basis, they bring a clear understanding of the problems facing our healthcare industry." The article then goes on to list all of the current members of Congress who are physicians, and lists some statistical data for them.
Here's an example of one, Congressman Neal Dunn, representing Florida's 2nd Congressional District:
https://www.nealdunn.com/meet-dr-dunn (I chose him for the example because he is a urologic surgeon, interestingly).
From his resume:
"Neal and Leah have both been involved in numerous community groups, including the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, Prostate Cancer Foundation, Bay Health Foundation, Relay for Life, Movember Foundation ..." And he is serving, appropriately, on a House health committee.
(A question came to my mind while researching these physician/politicians. Namely, what happens to their medical practices while they are away in Washington? Obviously they can't see patients while they are daily on the House or Senate floor. I found that two answers generally emerged. First, if they are in a group practice, their colleagues can cover for them. Second, they can make use of "locum tenens" (Latin: "holding the place") agencies, which specialize in providing substitute physicians to fill in for physicians who are away from their practices for various reasons and lengths of time).
Ideally, the Congress should be composed of a wide variety of citizen types and professions, to best represent the country and its people as a whole. And though small in number within that body, physicians bring to Congress a level of knowledge and experience that serves their constituents well.
So it makes sense, as one source I read noted, that because physicians are trained to observe logically, and accurately diagnose problems, that they should then be able to come up with solutions to problems in the political. as well as medical, world.
Maybe some of them can use that approach to find solutions to some of our nation's more pressing problems.
Some interesting facts about
our U.S. Congressional physicians/lawmakers.