For Medical Students

New GME model aims to keep doctors in underserved areas

A new model of federal funding for graduate medical education (GME) is training more residents in community-based health centers with the goal of reducing primary care physician shortages in medically underserved areas, according to a recent article in American Medical News.

The Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Program (THCGME), established by the Affordable Care Act, provides $230 million in funding for residency programs at ambulatory, community-based centers. The THCGME program includes geriatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, internal medicine, family medicine, psychiatry, and general and pediatric dentistry.

The goal of the program is to attract more young physicians to practice primary care in underserved communities. Studies have shown that residents who provide primary care in community-based centers are three times as likely to practice primary care.

Residency programs at 22 facilities received funding through the program in 2012, American Medical News reports, and the program is expanding to additional teaching health centers in 2013.

A study published in the December 2012 issue of Academic Medicine found that residents in the THCGME program during 2011 received valuable training in such areas as using electronic health records, working as a health care team and supporting quality improvement.

The nation's physician shortage is predicted to exceed 91,000 physicians by 2020, with 45,400 of the shortfall in primary care.

Marshall U. wins AMA-MSS Event of the Month award

Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine is the latest winner of the AMA Medical Student Section's (MSS) "Event of the Month" award, which showcases recruitment, community service, education and AMA-MSS National Service Project events coordinated by individual AMA medical student sections.

Marshall U. won for its Medical Specialty Speed Dating event held Dec. 6. About 60 students attended a reception on campus and participated in five 15-minute rounds of networking with local physicians from various specialties. The AMA provided funding for food, supplies and decorations for the event. Visit the Event of the Month Web page for a detailed description of the event.

Is your AMA medical student section holding similar events? When you request a grant through the AMA Section Involvement Grant (SIG) program, you are automatically eligible for the "Event of the Month" award, which the AMA selects each month. At the end of the school year, all monthly awards will be showcased in June at the AMA-MSS Annual Assembly Meeting and voted on by students for one "Event of the Year" winner.

Through the SIG program, the AMA-MSS provides an opportunity for local AMA medical student sections to:

• Educate students about the AMA and provide an opportunity for students to get more involved.
• Help put AMA policy into action by providing a service to medical school campuses or communities.
• Engage in activities that focus on the AMA's top priorities.

Apply for seat on the AMA Council on Science and Public Health

If you have a passion for improving medical technology, then apply for the medical student position on the AMA Council on Science and Public Health. Applications are due Jan. 31.

The Council on Science and Public Health provides information and recommendations to the AMA on a wide variety of medical, scientific and public health issues.

Laura Halpin, the current student representative to the Council on Science and Public Health and student at the University of Toledo College of Medicine, has worked with the council on multiple levels, including contributing to the development of reports and providing testimony at AMA House of Delegates reference committees on behalf of the council.

"As a representative of the AMA Medical Student Section on the council, it's my responsibility to be aware of the section's position on the issues we consider and represent the medical student perspective to the council," she said.

The student council member also keeps the section updated on the work of the council and works with student leaders to discuss the development of testimony for the AMA House of Delegates on related topics.

Contact Halpin or other current student members of the councils and special groups for more information about the various student seats. 

Visit the AMA-MSS opportunities Web page to download an application, due Jan. 31. Other national AMA leadership opportunities available to medical students include:

• AMA councils, such as the Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs, the Council on Medical Education and the Council on Medical Service.
• AMA sections and special groups, such as the AMA Women Physicians Congress, the AMA Minority Affairs Section and the AMA Advisory Committee for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Issues.
• Other organizations, such as the AMA Foundation Board, the National Resident Matching Program and the Liaison Committee on Medical Education.

Enjoy savings on Kaplan Qbank and High Yield courses

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Don't miss out on valuable resources for AMA members. Renew your membership or join the AMA today to begin receiving these benefits.

Cast your vote in the 2nd Take a Trip with Timmy Global Health Contest

Help your colleagues work to ensure that patients in Guatemala, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic have access to quality health care by voting in the Take a Trip with Timmy Global Health contest. Through the contest, two residents, medical students, allied health students or pre-med students will spend two to three weeks with medical professionals working to expand health care access in those countries.

During the past few months, residents and students from all over the United States submitted essays about how their career goals as a medical professional align with the mission to expand access to health care for the underserved. Ten finalists remain, and you can help select the two winners by voting on the video essays they created. Review the video essays and vote today; voting ends Jan. 28.

The trip prize is offered by Timmy Global Health, an Indianapolis-based nonprofit organization that works to expand access to health care in low-income communities in the developing world. "Take a Trip with Timmy" is supported by the MedPlus Advantage insurance program, offered through AMA Insurance Agency.