The Oxford don is not alone in his worries. In Britain especially there is anxiety about shortages of scientists who can do both basic and clinical research. The fears have prompted a number of new programs designed to train students in both areas. But even as a new generation of researchers with M.D.'s and Ph.D.'s begins to emerge, many scientists are wondering if it really is still possible to straddle the two worlds. As Norman Kreitman, a psychiatrist and director of a research unit in Edinburgh, says: "It's becoming more and more difficult to be both a clinician and a scientist because both jobs are becoming ever more specialized and complex."
The shortage of physician-scientists is difficult to measure. But all of the researchers contacted by The Scientist agreed that it has the potential for slowing the pace of biomedical research. Steve Reeders, a scientist and physician working at Yale ...
