Despite Hardships, Medicine Gives Cause for Thanks * By BENJAMIN BREWER,

I often wonder how family medicine will survive in places like this. Nearly half the primary care doctors in this country plan to quit, retire early or cut back on their practices, according to a recent national survey. If those physicians follow through on those intentions, the shortages of doctors in Illinois, and elsewhere, could be severe.

It gives me pause to think that we've lost our way that much. Yes, there are challenges, both personal and financial, in being a primary care doctor. Those challenges can break your spirit, if you let them. But I still find reasons to give thanks for being a country doctor.