Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC)

We’re excited the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has announced the latest distribution of 200 new Medicare-supported graduate medical education (#GME) residency slots as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. The new slots are distributed across 33 states with 70% going toward primary care and psychiatry residency programs. This is an important step forward in helping to increase access to care for patients across the nation and alleviate the #DocShortage. We urge Congress to continue building on these bipartisan investments & #ExpandGME by passing the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act (S. 1302/H.R 2389). This legislation prioritizes diverse groups of hospitals with the goal of ensuring new residency positions are distributed to hospitals that serve a variety of patient populations and needs.? Learn more: https://ow.ly/7CfX50Uc8iM

James Davis, MD, has thousands of patients who have struggled with tobacco addiction. Many of them have been able to quit alcohol, methamphetamines, cocaine, and even opioids, but they are unable to quit smoking cigarettes. “Tobacco addiction is an incredibly difficult addiction for people to overcome,” says Davis, who is the medical director for the Duke Smoking Cessation Program at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina. “For a person who smokes, their lives are full of smoking triggers. As they go about their daily routine, they may encounter a smoking trigger every 10 to 15 minutes.” Though smoking rates have fallen in recent decades, it remains the leading cause of preventable deaths, killing 480,000 Americans annually. But new and developing treatments, including medications, behavioral therapy, and (debatably) use of e-cigarettes may enhance health care professionals’ ability to help their patients quit smoking. In honor of the Great American Smokeout, AAMCNews spoke with leading experts on the latest innovations in smoking cessation therapy. https://ow.ly/OW7E50UbXv6

It’s #NationalRuralHealthDay! Rural communities face unique and persistent health care challenges such as physician workforce shortages and limited access to care. We’re proud of our rural-serving member institutions for their innovative approaches to ensuring that patients in these areas have access to the high-quality care they deserve when they need it. Learn more about the #PowerOfRural in academic medicine: https://ow.ly/sTsK50Ubf4g

Meet Shelby Snyder, a medical student at University of Washington - School of Medicine whose journey to medical school is a powerful story of resilience, community, and commitment to her Indigenous heritage. A member of the Navajo Nation and Southern Ute descent, Shelby’s goal is to be a provider and support Indigenous people in their health journeys and advocate for culturally appropriate spaces for healing and health. She is a recipient of the Herbert W. Nickens Medical Student Scholarship awarded during Learn Serve Lead 2024 (#AAMC24) to outstanding third-year medical students who show leadership in eliminating inequities in #MedEd & health care. Learn more about how Shelby is breaking barriers in medicine: https://ow.ly/En0l50Uatvf #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth

“You’re never the same. It’s part of who I am now.”?That’s Barbara Blok, MD, of University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, pondering the impact of treating victims of a mass shooting during a Batman movie in Aurora, Colorado. You can see that Blok struggles to talk about it, but she talks anyway because she wants health care workers to be prepared and to get help. “I still will cry when I think about it sometimes. And the anxiety will come back if I, if I hear about a mass shooting. But I've learned to live with it.” AAMCNews talked to six extraordinary doctors about how responding to mass shootings affected them — in the moment of crisis, in the aftermath, and for the rest of their lives.? Read and watch their powerful stories of struggle and strength: https://ow.ly/ploq50U9kzn

The AAMC is proud to share our “Advocacy Toolkit for Physicians in Training.” This resource equips medical students and residents to amplify their voices and advocate for and alongside the communities they serve. The toolkit offers: ?? Practical frameworks for effective health care advocacy ?? Resources to address systemic challenges in patient and community health ?? Adaptable principles for advocacy across regions nationwide Advocacy is a vital extension of patient care, and physicians and learners are uniquely positioned to drive meaningful change in public health policies and programs. Share this with your network so learners can explore the toolkit and join us in shaping a healthier, more equitable future: https://ow.ly/YFhO50Uap1v

15 million: That's the number of U.S. adults who say they have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. But is the condition being overhyped? “There’s also been a lot of misinformation, sensationalizing, and generalizing on social media,” says Craig Surman, MD, an ADHD researcher and psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital. "Diagnosing ADHD is complicated and needs to be based on specific criteria. It’s a lot to put into a sound bite." And though awareness is on the rise, doctors who treat adults often feel uncomfortable addressing a condition that was long considered an issue only for kids. We asked experts to weigh in on how best to diagnose and treat adult ADHD, where future research needs to head, and much-needed consensus guidelines that are coming down the pike. https://ow.ly/TRM550Ua8YC

In collaboration with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and the American Medical Association (AMA), the AAMC is participating in the Physician Data Initiative, an effort to establish a standard practice for categorizing, collecting, reporting, and sharing sociodemographic data. Recommended standards are now available for race and ethnicity and language proficiency. Additional standards are planned for development in the future. Any organization can use the standards and there is great benefit to voluntarily adopting mutually agreed-upon values and structure to gather and disaggregate data consistently. Learn more: https://ow.ly/FWaJ50U9e8L

Did you know we have a collection of free resources on the intersection of Community Engagement and health equity? From publications to toolkits, the resources contain arguments, data and actions you can take to communicate and advocate for community engagement within institutions, with community partners, and across local, state, and national communities. Explore the resource collection: https://ow.ly/e5Z550U63gO #CommunityEngagement #HealthEquity

Medical misinformation is a longstanding issue that affects patient trust and health outcomes. To counteract these challenges, four medical schools—backed by an AAMC-CDC grant—have introduced pioneering curricula designed to empower future health professionals in addressing misinformation. From team-based simulations to communication toolkits, each program fosters interprofessional learning to equip learners with skills to engage patients effectively and non-judgmentally. Discover how these innovative approaches are helping shape a more informed future for patient care. ?? Read the full article to learn more about these impactful initiatives and access free resources for health professions educators. https://ow.ly/hxZT50U6z86