News in brief - Aug. 22/29, 2005

Pa. physicians back bill separating licensure from liability requirements - Indiana doctor new NMA president - Medical schools win service grants

Pa. physicians back bill separating licensure from liability requirements

The Pennsylvania Medical Society threw its support behind a state bill that proposes to separate a physician's licensure requirements from a minimum required level of medical liability insurance.

Pennsylvania Medical Society President William W. Lander, MD, said a physician's competency should not be tied to a specific minimum level of liability insurance. Physicians in the state are required to carry $1 million worth of coverage or they lose their license.

Indiana doctor new NMA president

The National Medical Assn. recently installed Indiana nephrologist Sandra L. Gadson, MD, as its 106th president. Dr. Gadson, who will serve a one-year term, is medical director of the Northwest Indiana Dialysis Center in Gary.

She has been president of the Northwest Indiana chapter of the NMA and a member of the NMA board of trustees. In her inaugural address, Dr. Gadson said the NMA will continue to focus on eradicating health disparities.

Medical schools win service grants

Eight medical schools have been awarded grants for medical student-initiated community service programs, through a program of the Assn. of American Medical Colleges and the Pfizer Medical Humanities Initiative.

The "Caring for Community" program this year will help fund six free medical clinics and two health education programs.

The grants range from $12,000 to $30,000 over the span of one to four years.

For 2005 the grant winners are Baylor College of Medicine in Texas; Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City; Louisiana State University School of Medicine; University at Buffalo State University of New York School of Medicine and Biological Sciences; University of Massachusetts Medical School; University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School; University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; and University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in New York.