Sir

Your News Feature “Them and us no longer” (Nature 439, 779–780; 2006), about the narrowing divide between medical doctors and PhD scientists, ends with a disturbing assumption: that “the era of the physician–scientist [is drawing] to a close”. As medical doctors who have spent our careers in science, we strongly favour programmes that expose PhD researchers to the realities of clinical medicine. But these efforts do not eliminate the need for the classic physician–scientist, who obtains hands-on training in medicine as well as an advanced science education.

The recent rapid decline in the number of physician–scientist trainees in the United States and elsewhere is a serious problem that has been largely ignored. Now more than ever, we need them to continue bridging the intellectual and conceptual gap between medical doctors, seeking to understand the potential for science to deliver better care, and PhD researchers with an increasing interest in the same goals.

The disturbing trend in which fewer novel therapeutics are reaching the clinic will also not be halted without a robust pipeline of physician–scientists. Unless their training is restored, everyone stands to lose: medical doctors, academic researchers, taxpayers, funding organizations — and, most of all, patients. For further relevant literature, see http://meded.ucsd.edu/adpst/media_ps.html.