I'm sure you've heard about the doctor shortage. And you're probably familiar with the old "apples" saying. But have you heard the one about how talking to a doctor today keeps new doctors away?

Some fairly frightening news is coming out of a new survey regarding the future of health care. Nine out of 10 physicians say they wouldn't recommend—and in fact would discourage—health care as a profession. And almost half of physicians say they're thinking about leaving the profession within the next five years as a result of the changes within America's health care system.

"For years, the medical profession has been predicting a shortage of health care professionals. Today, we are perilously close to a true crisis as newly insured Americans enter the health care system and our population continues to age," says Donald Palmisano, a doctor on The Doctors Company Board of Governors, which conducted the survey. "Unfortunately, we may be facing a shift from a 'calling,' which has been the hallmark for generations among physicians, that could threaten the next generation of health care professionals."