Medical Student Rotations and the Recession

I've been asking this question a lot lately: How will this recession affect medical students, their clinical rotations and their job prospects?

After perusing the web and talking to quite a few people, this is what I have gathered. This is in no way a scientific study, but the consensus seems to be:

1) Medical Students are about 50/50 on whether their job prospects are secure.
2) Historically, applications to medical schools have increased in previous recessions.
3) There is still a shortage of doctors and nurses in the US.
4) Clinical rotations seem to be fairly secure - mainly because it is not a revenue drain.
5) Residencies should continue - Again, not a huge revenue drain (compared with an Attending).
6) If there is an impact, it will trail the rest of the economy by about a year or so.

I believe at the end of the day, that if you are in medicine for the right reasons and you carry a deep passion for what you do, you're going to be fine. In the long run, the US and world have survived recessions. Remember that each recession is usually "the worst since..." and yet, we always manage to move on.