Mandy Oaklander | October 04, 2026

You might have waited weeks or even months for a doctor’s appointment recently. We simply don’t have enough health care providers, and the problem is only getting worse, writes Michellene Davis, president and CEO of National Medical Fellowships, in her new essay for TIME.

One solution: We must prevent financial barriers from determining who has the opportunity to become a health care leader, Davis writes.

TODAY’S TOPICS

Who cares for the carers?
Got a question for us?
In defense of human-generated awe

SUNDAY READ

America’s health care workforce is in crisis

By Michellene Davis

tab1962—Getty Images

Dr. Jonathan Tyes once struggled to imagine a future in medicine for himself. A first-generation college student and the oldest of 10 siblings, Tyes was raised by his grandparents in Cleveland. While studying biology at Morehouse College, he was a few credits from graduation when his grandmother died. Grief and financial hardship threatened to end both his education and his dream of becoming the first physician in his family.

Instead, he spent years rebuilding his 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. Eventually, as a non-traditional student in his mid-thirties, he got into medical school.

Though his family faced homelessness, gun violence, and other tribulations throughout his education, he stayed the course. Financial support from our organization, National Medical Fellowships (NMF), helped him remain enrolled and continue his 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.

Read the full essay here.

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WHAT WE’RE READING

In the age of AI, we shouldn’t lose sight of the value of human-generated awe, writes Arianna Huffington for TIME.
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Some states are exploring single-payer, universal health care systems—and Oregon is the closest to enacting one, Markian Hawryluk writes for KFF Health News.

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