Offcall Physician Spotlight: Meet Dr. Amna Shabbir

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1. Amna, do you think AI will solve the physician shortage or quietly make it worse? AI cannot solve a very human issue and need. We're missing the core point of focus: the culture of medicine and the relationship communities have with how they view physicians today. Physicians are leaving medicine in droves, and incoming graduates are hesitant to practice at the bedside because of the absence of basic dignity and employee rights. Wellbeing is still an afterthought, because the expectation is that a physician should suppress their human needs — sleep, rest — under the guise of persistent altruism and self-sacrifice.

While AI can, on the surface, solve for menial tasks like documentation, if the focus still remains greed-driven productivity — where now, with documentation out of the way, maybe a physician should squeeze in double the patient care in that same time slot — it doesn't just miss the point. It makes it worse.

Organizations that see physicians as human beings and celebrate them for that will use AI to their advantage. The others will continue to practice dangerous medicine.

As for patients — a growing number of physicians on social media are sharing their frustration that patients are using AI-generated responses as ammunition to fuel distrust and disrespect, adding to moral injury and burnout. I'm not anti-progress or anti-AI. I remain skeptical, though, about how AI will actually be leveraged to solve for humanity.

2. Independent practice in 2026 — endangered species or quiet comeback? I am so proud of my fellow colleagues who are stepping into independent practice — both through the lens of a physician and a patient. Not endangered. Making a bold comeback, as a way to reclaim autonomy, creativity, and patient advocacy!

3. What's something physicians are quietly worried about that the public doesn't know about yet? I don't think the public fully recognizes the depth of physician responsibilities and expectations — the mental health crisis, the burnout, the moral injury. Physicians are the front-facing players in the field, repeatedly absorbing the backlash for providing care inside a depleted system. They're the easiest to blame when things go wrong.

The public at large truly doesn't understand the mismatch between expectation and reality. And they justify it, in part, by creating mythical salaries around what physicians must be earning. For example, I was sitting across from a non-healthcare friend who was upset that his PCP hadn't replied to a message he'd sent two hours earlier. He said, "If she's earning millions of dollars, she can respond to my message." I — a former PCP — nearly spit out my dinner laughing at how completely justified he felt in his indignation, fully convinced his doctor was pulling in at least a million dollars per year.

The delayed gratification, the cost of medical education, the mental distress, the lack of support — none of that registers for most people. Patients also don't fully grasp that the ridiculous healthcare spending statement they receive has barely anything to do with physician compensation.

And then there's the constant barrage of entities preying on human vulnerability — social media "wellness influencers" and others sowing mass distrust that physicians then have to navigate. Every reel that starts with "Here are 3 things your doctor is hiding from you" will rack up thousands of views and is another blip added to the moral injury metaverse.

All of it is missing a massive point: doctors and patients are both suffering as a consequence of this healthcare system — in their own silos, both deserving better. Communication and compassion are great places to start.