Medical school enrollment projected
to rise 21 percent by 2012
An annual survey
on medical school expansion, conducted by the AAMC, indicates that
first-year enrollment in U.S. medical schools is estimated to grow
21 percent (3,400 students per year) by 2012 to 19,900 students.
According to survey results, more than 86 percent of existing schools
have already expanded the number of first-year students or plan
to do so within the next five years. In addition, nine new medical
schools are under development or discussion, according to the Liaison
Committee on Medical Education, which accredits medical education
programs leading to an M.D. degree. The AAMC estimates that almost
800 first-year students will attend these new schools in the academic
year 2012-13, based on future enrollment figures. The results of
this survey were presented on Thursday at the opening of the 2008
AAMC Physician Workforce Research Conference. The latest issue of
AAMC Analysis in Brief also examines some of the results from this
survey: www.aamc.org/data/aib/aibissues/aibvol8_no3.pdf
AAMC task force urges policies
to avoid conflicts of interest in medical education
A report
issued last week by an AAMC-convened task force has recommended
that medical schools and teaching hospitals implement policies that
would prohibit pharmaceutical and medical device companies from
providing free meals, gifts, and travel to faculty, staff, medical
students, and other representatives of academic medical institutions.
The report also discusses the need for policies that address ghost-writing,
continuing medical education sponsorship, and distribution of free
drug samples. The Task Force on Industry Funding of Medical Education,
convened by the AAMC in 2006, was charged with forging consensus
principles to guide the association and the leaders of medical schools
and teaching hospitals in developing policies and procedures to
manage industry gifting practices and financial support of their
programs of medical education for students, trainees, faculty, and
community physicians. The report is the product of the task force's
efforts and will be deliberated by the AAMC Executive Council at
its June 18-19 meeting.
New podcasts provide expert advice to aspiring
doctors
The AAMC's AspiringDocs.org
campaign has released new podcasts on why diversity matters in medical
education, how to succeed in the interview process, and what medical
school is like. Aimed toward prospective medical students, the free
podcasts can be downloaded from AspiringDocs.org, the AAMC podcasts site,
or through the iTunes store. AspiringDocs.org is an AAMC initiative
designed to increase diversity in medicine by encouraging African
American, Latino/a, and Native American students to apply to and
enroll in medical school.
Comment period extended for federal
designation of shortage, underserved areas
The U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services has extended to May 29 the public
comment period for a new proposed rule that would change the methodology
used to designate federal health professions shortage areas (HPSA)
and medically underserved populations (MUP). The rule would consolidate
the criteria for both designations into a single new methodology.
Currently, the HPSA and MUP designations are used to determine site
eligibility for 30 or more federal programs, including: some Health
Resources and Services Administration Title VII health professions
grants; the National Health Service Corps; the Center for Medicare
and Medicaid Services Rural Health Clinics; and J-1 visa waivers
for international medical graduates (such as the Conrad State 30
program). The AAMC is reviewing the proposed rule.
Congress passes genetics nondiscrimination
bill
More than a decade after it was initially introduced, Congress
has passed the "Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA)."
President Bush is expected to sign the bill. GINA seeks to prohibit
discrimination on the basis of genetic information with respect
to health insurance and employment. In an April 16
letter to the Senate, AAMC President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch,
M.D., noted that without federal legal protections against such
discrimination, "individuals may refuse effective genetic tests
or opt out of clinical trials."
Two scientists are first women
to receive Albany Prize
Molecular researchers Elizabeth Blackburn, Ph.D., of the University
of California, San Francisco, and Joan Steitz, Ph.D., of Yale University,
are the first women scientists to be named recipients of the Albany
Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research, the
nation's largest prize in medicine. The $500,000 award was announced
on Friday. Dr. Blackburn is renowned for her discoveries of the
molecular nature of telomeres (DNA sequences) and for her discovery
of the ribonucleoprotein enzyme telomerase, which fortifies telomeres.
Dr. Steitz is renowned for her pioneering work in RNA, particularly
for the discovery and definition of the function of small ribonucleoproteins
in pre-messenger RNA-the earliest product of DNA transcription.
Federal advisory committee issues
report on genetic testing oversight
JAn advisory committee to the Secretary of the Department of Health
and Human Services has issued a report
on the oversight of genetic testing, including related federal,
state, and private-sector activities. The committee's report recommends
enhancements in five areas: regulations on clinical laboratory quality;
the clinical validity of and appropriate use of genetic tests; transparency
of clinical testing; gaps in knowledge of the usefulness and impact
of genetic tests; and education, training, and tools to help the
health care community, patients and consumers to interpret and communicate
genetic test results. The report also urges greater coordination
across government agencies and between public and private sector
oversight activities. Further, the committee notes the increasing
difficultly in distinguishing between genetic and other complex
laboratory tests, and therefore applies several of its recommendations
to lab tests generally.
