Nevada is in desperate need for doctors to train and stay within the state after their schooling is complete. While Nevada has a decent amount of medical schools to train and educate students, it severely lacks in after medical school programs. More than half of the physicians who leave the state after they complete their undergraduate program, do so because of the lack of residency or fellowship opportunities. “States typically have 40 residents per 100,000 people, but Nevada has somewhere between 12, and 14 residencies per 100,000…the students who graduate from medical school have to leave the state to satisfy their 3-year residency requirements.” (2)  Since such a vast amount of doctors must leave Nevada to finish their schooling, many do not come back to the state to practice and obtain their Nevada medical license.

Not only does Nevada compete with a lack of residency spaces to train and retain physicians, but its also a landscape plagued by low insurance reimbursements. To make money, physicians are paid for their services based on reimbursements provided by insurance companies. These rates vary from state to state, and Nevada is one of the worst reimbursed states in the country with some of the lowest reimbursement rates. (2) Potential physicians who are seeking their physician license in Nevada may look at other states that can offer better reimbursements and higher salaries. To attract and retain doctors, Nevada needs to figure out how to increase the amount of insurance reimbursement which often doesn’t cover the actual cost of providing services, and many Nevada physicians become overworked, underpaid and in some cases – leave.