Group on Resident Affairs (GRA)

The Group on Resident Affairs provides information, networking, and professional development programs to help members meet their responsibilities as Graduate Medical Education (GME) leaders in AAMC-member medical school, hospitals, and academic societies. To learn how GRA members are appointed by deans of medical schools and chief executives of members of the Council of Teaching Hospitals, and members of the Council of Academic Societies, see About GRA.

GME Resources

Special Survey of GRA Members About GME

In May 2009 a survey was conducted of GRA members about the GME environment, selected content, and outcomes of the programs their institutions sponsor. Read the AAMC Brief Survey of GME Environment, Content, and Outcomes.

Resident Duty Hours

• The AAMC provided testimony at the ACGME National Congress on Duty Hour and the Learning Environment June 11-12, 2009 (PDF, 3 pages)
• ACGME Duty Hours Task Force and Schedule of Testimonials June 11-12, 2009 (PDF, 4 pages)
• ACGME Request for Proposal Duty Hours Literature Review April 27, 2009
• AAMC sends letter to ACMGE responding to IOM report on resident duty hours April 21, 2009 (PDF, 4 pages)
  
• IOM, "Resident Duty Hours: Enhancing Sleep, Supervision and Safety" December 2008
• AAMC Policy Guidance on Graduate Medical Education

Workforce

• On July 28, HHS announced plans to allocate $200 Million in ARRA funds for health professions training programs.
• On July 1, AAMC Chief Advocacy Officer Atul Grover, M.D., was a guest on National Public Radio's Diane Rehm Show. The discussion focused on the role of primary care doctors in the nation's health care system, and efforts to address shortages of these physicians.
• AAMC Physician Workforce Research Conference, April 29-May 1, addressed the issue of having enough physicians to care for all Americans as our nation prepares to overhaul its health care system.
  
• U.S. Senate Committee on Finance Hearing, Workforce Issues in Health Care Reform: Assessing the Present and Preparing for the Future March 12, 2009
• AAMC Workforce Report: The Complexities of Physician Supply and Demand: Projections Through 2025 October 2008

Resident Debt

• The Government Accountability Office (GAO) May 4 released a report entitled "Graduate Medical Education: Trends in Training and Student Debt" (PDF, 51 pages). The report confirms previous AAMC studies on these issues. The GAO's primary findings indicate that physician subspecialization is increasing; students consider a complex set of factors-either individually or collectively -when selecting a specialty; and although medical student debt is rising, it is not uniquely influential in driving specialty choice.
• The National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program
  
• FIRST for Residents: a full range of resources that can help residents to identify the best options for managing and repaying student debt.
• Education Debt Management for Residents
  

Residency Caps / Medicare Funding

• House Committees Mark Up Health Care Reform Legislation July 17, 2009
  The legislation specifies that hospitals that currently exceed their Medicare "cap" will receive preference under the redistribution of residency slots.
• A June 30 letter from the AAMC urges CMS to, among other things, rescind a regulation that would eliminate capital indirect medical education (IME) payments to teaching hospitals. The elimination is scheduled to occur Oct. 1 and would result in approximately $380 million in annual lost payments to teaching hospitals.
• AAMC Supports Legislation to Increase GME Training Slots May 5, 2009

Education of Residents for Practice in the 21st Century

• MedPAC Meeting, September 18-19, discussion of GME pages 1-96 of transcript
• MedPAC Meeting, October 8-9, discussion of GME pages 3-87
• MedPAC Report: Improving Incentives in the Medicare Program June 15, 2009

Other Resources

Hospital Cell Phone Camera Policy Sept., 2009 (PDF, 2 pages)
The Economy's Impact on U.S. Medical Schools and Teaching Hospitals Sept., 2009 (PDF, 33 pages)
AAMC Legislative and Regulatory Update June, 2009 (PDF, 47 pages)
AAMC Washington Highlights
AAMC Integrating Quality Website
The Report of the Blue Ribbon Panel on VA-Medical School Affiliations