Staff News Writer

A national summit to discuss federal, state and community responses to the prescription drug abuse crisis took place at the White House earlier this month, underscoring the enormity and importance of the problem.

More graduate medical education positions are necessary to ensure there are enough doctors to meet the nation’s health care needs. Delegates passed policy to investigate new solutions for GME funding and workforce expansion and to continue advocating for additional federal GME funding.

Samuel A. Cassell, MD, was recognized earlier this month with the Jack B. McConnell, MD, Award for Excellence in Volunteerism, an honor awarded by the AMA Foundation to a senior physician who provides treatment to U.S. patients who lack access to care.

When physicians don’t conduct physical exams, patients are the ones that suffer. According to a recent article in Kaiser Health News, physical exams are giving way to the use of sophisticated, expensive tests in order to diagnose patients.

It may seem far away, but smart saving for retirement now will help you with financial security later. The AMA Resident and Fellow Section (RFS) hosted a special session on investing and retirement savings during the 2014 AMA Annual Meeting.

In Kelly v. Haralampopoulos, two Colorado physicians were accused of medical liability when a patient experienced cardiac arrest during a procedure after presenting with abdominal pain. Testimony of close friends indicated that the patient had been recreationally using a dangerous drug that is known to cause cardiac arrest.

About 200 academic physicians discussed the role of technology in medical education during the Harvard Macy Institute (HMI) 20th Anniversary Symposium last week in Boston, sharing ideas for transformational learning in the face of a changing health care system.