Health Professions

Physicians, Dentists, and Registered Nurses

Physicians

In 2003, there were 4,020 active physicians licensed to practice in New Mexico for a ratio of 214 physicians for every 100,000 New Mexico residents (Table 22).

Sources: Border States includes data from Arizona Medical Board (2004), and Arizona Board of Osteopathic Examiners in Medicine and Surgery (2004), California Department of Consumer Affairs (2004), New Mexico Health Policy Commission (2003), and Texas State Board of Medical Examiners (2003); U.S. from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Health Professions (2000).

• There were 441 physicians in the counties within 62 miles of the Border; this was 139 physicians for every 100,000 people living in the Border region. The physician to population ratio in the Border Counties was lower than the State physician to population ratio of 214 per 100,000, the Border States ratio of 219 per 100,000, and the U.S. ratio of 278 per 100,000.
  
  
• The national physician to population ratio was twice the supply in the New Mexico counties that are within 62 miles of the U.S.-Mexico Border.
  
  
• In the Border metropolitan counties,³³ there are 1.3 times as many physicians as there are in the non-metropolitan counties: 152 and 121 physicians per 100,000 population, respectively.
  
  
• Thirty-six percent of physicians in the Border Counties were approaching retirement age (ages 55 and over); this was similar to the 34 percent of physicians in the State who would be eligible for retirement within the next 10 years (Table 23).
  
  
• Twenty-nine percent of New Mexico physicians were female. In the Border Counties, 23 percent of physicians were female. In the metropolitan counties³⁴ between 62 and 300 miles from the Border, 30 percent of physicians were female. Only 16 percent of physicians were female in the counties more than 300 miles from the Border (Table 24).

Dentists

In 2003, there were 814 active dentists licensed to practice in New Mexico for a ratio of 43 dentists for every 100,000 New Mexico residents (Table 26).

• There were 95 dentists in the New Mexico Counties within 62 miles of the Border for a ratio of 30 dentists for every 100,000 people living in the Border Counties. The dentist to population ratio in the Border Counties was somewhat lower than in the State (43 per 100,000), and notably lower than ratios for the Border States (65 per 100,000) and the U.S. (61 per 100,000).
  
  
• The supply of dentists in the New Mexico Border Counties was one-half the supply at the national level.
  
  
• The supply of dentists in Border metropolitan counties³⁴ (32 per 100,000) was somewhat higher than in the non-metropolitan counties (26 per 100,000).
  
  
• The supply of dentists in the counties more than 300 miles from the Border was half the supply in the counties between 62 and 300 miles from the Border (23 and 46 dentists per 100,000 population, respectively).
  
  
• Dentists in the counties within 62 miles of the Border were slightly younger than those in the rest of the State. The average age of dentists in the Border region was 48 compared to a statewide average of 51. Twenty-seven percent of dentists in the Border Counties were approaching retirement age (ages 55 and over) compared to 37 percent of New Mexico dentists who would be eligible for retirement within the next 10 years (Table 27).
  
  
• New Mexico dentists were 87 percent male (Table 28).³⁵

Registered Nurses

In 2003, there were 13,999 active registered nurses (RNs) licensed to practice in New Mexico for a ratio of 745 nurses for every 100,000 New Mexico residents (Table 29).

Sources: Border States includes data from Arizona State Board of Nursing (2004), California Department of Consumer Affairs (2004), New Mexico Health Policy Commission (2003), and Texas Board of Nurse Examiners (2003); U.S. from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Health Professions (2000).

• There were 1,949 registered nurses in the New Mexico counties within 62 miles of the Border; this was 612 nurses per 100,000 population.
  
  
• The supply of RNs in the Border Counties was lower than the supply in the State (745 per 100,000), the Border States (692 per 100,000), and the U.S. (782 per 100,000).
  
  
• In the metropolitan counties³⁶ within 62 miles of the Border, there were fewer nurses than there were in the non-metropolitan counties: 621 and 599 per 100,000 population, respectively.
  
  
• The supply of RNs in counties between 62 and 300 miles from the U.S.-Mexico Border (774 per 100,000) was similar to the ratio for the Nation. In the counties more than 300 miles from the Border, the supply of RNs was higher than in the Border Counties with 669 per 100,000 population.
  
  
• Twenty-three percent of RNs in New Mexico were approaching retirement age (ages 55 and over). About 20 percent of RNs in the counties within 62 of the Border fell into this age group (Table 30). Nationally, it was estimated that 14 percent of RNs were in this age category.³⁷
  
  
• More New Mexico RNs were male (9.6 percent) than was the case nationally³⁷ (5.9 percent). Both the Border Counties (10.6 percent) and the counties between 62 and 300 miles from the Border (9.5 percent) had high proportions of male RNs.