New application process launched
for senior "away" electives
A new system that streamlines the application process for students
who are interested in taking electives at other U.S. medical schools
was launched by the AAMC on April 1. The Visiting
Student Application Service (VSAS) allows seniors to submit
just one application for multiple schools, significantly reducing
paperwork and improving efficiency. The program is available initially
to medical schools accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical
Education and will open for student use on April 15. During this
pilot year, a mix of 10 private and public schools from different
geographic areas are participating as VSAS host schools. Other schools
will continue to use their own application system, but any students
applying for electives at the host schools will use VSAS software.
The application fee for students is $35 for the first school applied
to and $15 for each additional school. Next year there will be annual
fees for both home and host schools. Planned future enhancements
for VSAS include an interface for faculty members to approve and
schedule electives, inclusion of osteopathic students, and the incorporation
of electronic evaluations.
AAMC supports reauthorization
of J-1 visa waiver program
Last week, the AAMC sent a letter
to Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) in support of the "Conrad State
30 Improvement Act," which would permanently reauthorize the
Conrad State 30 J-1 visa waiver program. The letter notes the association's
support for many facets of the bill, including the increased annual
per state allotments; a green card cap exemption for physicians
who have completed the Conrad 30 program; and increased "flex-slots"
for physicians employed at facilities located outside of underserved
areas who treat patients who live within underserved areas. In the
letter, the AAMC cautions that current visa policies create greater
incentives for international medical graduates to enter the country
on H-1b visas rather than on J-1 visas.
New AAMC publication aimed at increasing
med school diversity
Acknowledging the benefits of a diverse student body, the AAMC
has issued a call to action in the form of a guide to help medical
schools put policies in place to promote diversity. "Roadmap
to Diversity: Key Legal and Educational Policy Foundations for Medical
Schools" is the first in a comprehensive series of publications
produced by the AAMC Holistic Review Project. The hands-on document
is meant to act as a tool to encourage leadership, faculty, legal
counsel and others to collaborate on diversity-related issues and
implement policies and programs that are both educationally sound
and legally viable. The publication includes background on key legal
and policy trends related to diversity efforts, an explanation of
diversity goals and why they are important, an overview of key policy
terms, as well as a self assessment guide and an action plan template.
This free guide is available on the AAMC's Publications
Web site.
Information: Ruth Beer Bletzinger, AAMC Diversity Policies and
Programs, rbletzinger@aamc.org
AAMC opposes amendment to False
Claims Act
The AAMC joined 16 other organizations in a letter
to Congress opposing a Senate-proposed amendment to the False Claims
Act (FCA). The legislation is intended to correct recent decisions
by various federal courts that have limited the scope and application
of the FCA through interpretations that are contrary to what Congress
originally intended when the law was updated 20 years ago. The letter,
organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform,
states that the revisions proposed in the legislation would "dramatically
expand the scope of liability under the statute, increase its financial
penalties, and remove safeguards against unfounded qui tam lawsuits."
The letter continues, "these amendments are unnecessary and
will impose enormous burdens on non-profits, universities, hospitals,
and small businesses, as well as virtually any organization that
does business with the Federal government." While the cosponsors
of this newly proposed legislation describe it as a "technical
correction," it would have a significant impact on medical
schools and teaching hospitals because they are recipients of billions
of dollars in federal grants and contracts and prime targets of
FCA lawsuits brought both by the Department of Justice and by faculty,
employees, and others.
Federal court upholds tax exception for resident
stipends
Last week, the U.S.
District Court for the District of Minnesota ordered the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) to refund almost $1.1 million, plus interest,
to the University of Minnesota for Federal Insurance Contributions
Act (FICA) taxes paid on medical residents' stipends during the
second quarter of 2005. Under the IRS rule for Student FICA Exceptions—effective
for services performed on or after April 1, 2005—residents
are considered employees rather than students and do not qualify
for the exception. In an earlier case involving the Mayo Clinic,
the court found the IRS rule to be invalid. The court's decision
last week is unlikely to set a precedent for courts outside the
federal district covering Minnesota. To date, no other court has
invalidated the IRS rule. Though the federal government has appealed
the Mayo decision, it has not announced whether it will appeal the
most recent decision.
COGME releases reports on medical access
problems and workforce shortages
Last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
released two of the latest reports
from the Council on Graduate Medical Education (COGME), a group
formed to provide recommendations to HHS and Congress on physician
workforce issues. The 18th report, "New Paradigms for Physician
Training for Improving Access to Healthcare," focuses on solving
medical access problems facing the nation's rural areas and the
urban uninsured. The report proposes five recommendations, some
of which include creating a national medical school and reinvigorating
Title VII health professions funding, targeting training to create
a physician workforce in underserved areas. The 19th report, "Enhancing
Flexibility in Graduate Medical Education," covers the inflexibility
of residency training programs, largely due to the restrictions
on the number of positions and training sites available. The report
also makes recommendations to improve graduate medical education,
including a 15 percent increase in funding, new training models
to meet community needs, and decentralization of training sites.
Clinical trial volunteers are
indifferent, not blind, to financial conflicts
Unless a researcher has stock ownership in a company whose drug
is being tested, telling potential research volunteers about an
investigator's financial interests is unlikely to affect their willingness
to volunteer, according to a new study
published online by the Journal of General Internal Medicine. However,
study results also show that many research volunteers put less trust
in clinical trial leaders with financial conflicts. The study's
findings suggest that researchers and policymakers involved in clinical
trials should pay close attention to the impact of financial disclosures
on potential study subjects. The research was conducted by investigators
from the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins
School of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, and the
Wake Forest School of Medicine and School of Law. The study was
funded by the National Institutes of Health.
On the move
Edward J. Wing, M.D., has been appointed dean of medicine and biological
sciences at Brown University, effective July 1. He is currently
chair of the department of medicine at Brown and the Joukowsky Family
Professor of Medicine. He is also physician-in-chief at Rhode Island
Hospital and the Miriam Hospital, and executive physician-in-chief
at the Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, the Veterans Affairs Medical
Center, and Women and Infants Hospital.
Steven G. Gabbe, M.D., dean of Vanderbilt University School of
Medicine, has been named senior vice president for health sciences
at Ohio State University, effective July 1. He will serve in this
position for four years, at which time he will become counselor
to the president for health affairs. Wiley "Chip" Souba,
M.D., will continue as dean of the Ohio State University College
of Medicine and will become vice president of health sciences.
Thomas R. Cech, Ph.D., will step down as president of the Howard
Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) in spring 2009. He plans to resume
his position as an HHMI investigator at the University of Colorado,
where he has been a faculty member since 1978.
