Candice Chen

Medical school recruitment and admission policies clearly influence the product of medical schools. The intent to choose primary care or practice in rural and other underserved areas at medical school entry are the most consistent factors predicting future careers in these areas.

A New York Times blog by Dr. Karen Sibert has been lighting up the blogosphere. Dr. Sibert asserts young women doctors who work part time lack sufficient commitment to the profession and are a poor investment for the system.

Recently I’ve heard arguments suggesting Medicare should increase the number of funded graduate medical education (GME) positions because as U.S. medical schools expand, U.S. medical graduates will no longer get into their chosen residency positions.  This sentiment is often echoed in medical student blogs and chat rooms, with students arguing that there aren’t enough of specific specialty residency positions.

But these arguments beg the question – what demand are we meeting through our federal support of GME?

I have a friend who buys a new cell phone every few months so that he always has the newest technology.  At home, I have a high definition LCD television with a DVD player and a Wii console attached.  What got me thinking about this?  A statement I overheard today regarding health care –

The U.S. doesn’t focus on health care equity because we are so focused on promoting our state of the art technology.

Amidst the debates on insurance market reforms, Medicaid expansion, and maintaining benefits for Medicare beneficiaries, graduate medical education is getting attention in this round of health care reform legislation.  And we've created a crib sheet of the Senate Finance legislation:

Chairman's Mark (9-16-09)

A recent research brief examining Community Health Centers (CHCs) in Indiana indicates financial investment in CHCs will ultimately result in savings for health care systems – totaling $473 million for Indiana in 2007.  These savings come from the lower cost of health care in ambulatory settings and reduced spending on preventable emergency room visits and hospital admissions.

In the June 8 Roll Call, Atul Grover of the AAMC asks –

If you or someone you love were gravely ill, where would you turn?

The total number of PGY-1 residency positions offered and filled increased again this year, with 400 (1.9%) more PGY-1 positions filled.  However, despite a promising increase in family medicine position filled last year, the number of positions offered and filled is down again this year - 100 fewer positions were offered and there were 75 fewer positions filled (Figure).