Students, residents and fellows across the country are coming together this week to call on Congress to preserve funding for graduate medical education (GME) during Save GME Week.
More GME positions are necessary to ensure there are enough physicians to meet the nation’s health care needs, according to a report by the AMA Council on Medical Education. The United States’ current physician workforce won’t be enough to care for patients under expanded insurance coverage and with an aging population.
That’s why members of the AMA Medical Student Section (MSS) and AMA Resident and Fellow Section are calling on lawmakers via emails, phone calls and social media to #SaveGME.
Participate in Save GME Week by including #SaveGME in your social media posts. Here are some GME facts to help you get started:
- Experts predict a shortage of 91,500 physicians by the year 2020, which could be significantly reduced with increases in GME positions.
- Teaching hospitals provide about 40 percent of all charity care in the United States—about $8.4 billion in care annually.
- Residents serve the underserved: 89 percent of teaching hospitals offer AIDS services, compared to just 16 percent of nonteaching hospitals.
- Residents care for veterans: More than 37,000 residents received some or all of their training at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals while caring for active soldiers and veterans.
Additional GME facts and resources are available at SaveGME.org.
Follow the AMA-MSS Facebook and Twitter accounts for daily updates on how students and residents across the country are working to #SaveGME.
