TAMPA, Fla. — On Wednesday, Tampa Family Health Care announced a new residency program in partnership with BayCare. Around 36,000 physician jobs will be open by 2035, according to the Florida Medical Association.
In Hillsborough County, up to 20 percent of the doctors in the county are expected to retire in the next five years, according to last year's workforce report from the state Department of Health.
According to the National Association of Community Health Care, 67 percent of the country's community health centers lost between 5-25 percent of their workforce during 2022.
"It is definitely always a challenge to be able to find good physicians, good nurse practitioners, good PAs who will come and work with us to see our community population," said Maritza Torress, a family nurse practitioner with TFHC.
As Florida continues to grow, programs to inspire the next generation of doctors are essential.
"This is a unique program that is one of the first in its kind in Florida to be partnered with a major hospital system," said Dr. Ashley McPhie, the program director with Tampa Family Health Center.
Doctors retiring aren't being replaced at the same pace. Torress says she hopes this program can teach young medical professionals to have the same passion for the job that she feels each day.
"Keeps me working every day, my patients and just feeling and knowing that I make a difference with them," Torress said.
For Tampa Family Health Center, they're not only working to train in new doctors, they want to keep them in Florida as well.
"So we're firm believers that if we have the opportunity to educate the residents, we'll be able to retain them, at least in Florida, even if it's not in our health centers," McPhie said.
Malique Rankin is a general assignment reporter with 10 Tampa Bay. You can email her story ideas at mrankin@10tampabay.com and follow her Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.