Group on Resident Affairs (GRA)

GME Resources

Resident Duty Hours

• IOM, "Resident Duty Hours: Enhancing Sleep, Supervision and Safety" December 2008
• AAMC sends letter to ACMGE responding to IOM report on resident duty hours April 21, 2009 (PDF, 4 pages)
  The AAMC has submitted a letter to the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), responding to the council's request for comments on an Institute of Medicine (IOM) report on 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)
• AAMC Policy Guidance on Graduate Medical Education
• ACGME Request for Proposal Duty Hours Literature Review April 27, 2009
  

Workforce

• 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
• AAMC Physician Workforce Research Conference April 29-May 1, 2009
  How do we ensure that there are enough physicians to care for all Americans as our nation prepares to overhaul its health care system? Leading national and international workforce experts explored that question at the AAMC's Fifth Annual Physician Workforce Research Conference. Mary Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N., administrator of the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, opened the conference with a presentation that detailed several ways of preparing physicians to meet the nation's evolving health care needs, including through training in interprofessional teamwork, cultural competence, and health informatics. The meeting's keynote speaker, Lloyd Michener, M.D., chairman of Duke University School of Medicine's department of community and family medicine, noted that partnerships with social service agencies, charities, and other community groups can help physicians and hospitals improve local health. Other conference speakers, including Mark E. Miller, Ph.D., executive director of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, suggested that changes in the Medicare payment system were essential to both increasing the nation's physician supply and streamlining health care delivery.
  

Resident Debt

• The National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program
• The Government Accountability Office (GAO) May 4 released a report entitled "Graduate Medical Education: Trends in Training and Student Debt." 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.
  
• 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

• The AAMC May 28 submitted comments to the Senate Finance Committee which, in a discussion of cost-reduction options under health care reform, suggested reductions in Medicare and Medicaid support for graduate medical education (GME), as well cuts to Medicare and Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments.
• AAMC Supports Legislation to Increase GME Training Slots May 5, 2009
  Senators Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), introduced the AAMC-supported "Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2009" (S. 973), which increases the number of Medicare-supported graduate medical education (GME) training positions by 15 percent (approximately 15,000 slots). The bill also addresses Medicare rules that affect payments for resident time in non-hospital settings such as physician offices. Finally, the legislation preserves residency slots from closed hospitals and redistributes the slots among nearby teaching hospitals. Reps. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.), Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.), and Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) introduced companion legislation (H.R. 2251) on May 5.
  

Education of Residents for Practice in the 21st Century

• MedPAC discussion of Medical Education in the U.S. March 13, 2009

Other Resources

AAMC Legislative and Regulatory Update March 2009 (PDF, 35 pages)
AAMC Washington Highlights

GRA Spring Meetings

April 25-28, 2010
Four Seasons Austin
Austin, Texas

April 30 - May 4, 2011
The Ritz-Carlton -Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio

More GRA Meetings

GME Leadership Development Course

This course addresses the Core Competencies for Institutional Leaders/DIOs (PDF, 18 pages) required to lead an institution's GME activity. It is designed for GME deans and directors and other academic leaders who are responsible for institutional oversight of GME and the educational environment for residents and fellows.

For more information, please contact Kristin Danilczyk at 202-862-0495; kdanilczyk@aamc.org.

Contact Us

If you are a GRA member and need assistance logging into the private site, please contact Kristin Danilczyk at 202-862-0495; kdanilczyk@aamc.org.

GRA Staff
Sunny Yoder
Executive Secretary
Director, Health Care Affairs
syoder@aamc.org

Kristin Danilczyk
GRA Program Specialist
Health Care Affairs
kdanilczyk@aamc.org

Jacqueline Sprague
Sr. Administrative Associate
Health Care Affairs
jsprague@aamc.org