Increase in funding of GME positions recommended to address pediatrician workforce needs
WEDNESDAY, March 30, 2016 (HealthDay News) — More graduate medical education (GME) should be financed to meet the needs of children and the pediatric workforce, according to a policy statement published online March 28 in Pediatrics.
Noting that there is currently a shortage of pediatric medical subspecialists in the United States, Mary Ellen Rimsza, M.D., from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Committee on Pediatric Workforce, and colleagues developed recommendations to ensure that sufficient numbers of trained pediatricians are available to provide optimal health care to all children.
The AAP recommends that graduate medical training for all pediatric physician trainees, including pediatric medical and surgical subspecialists, be fully funded for the full length of training and that all entities in the health care industry contribute funding for GME training in a manner that does not influence curriculum, requirements, or outcomes. Funding for GME should support the education of trainees in all settings and flow to the site of training; funding should be allocated in a transparent manner. In addition, funding of pediatric GME positions should be increased to address the current and ongoing pediatrician workforce needs and the increasing demand for pediatric services.
“Without adequate GME funding, there will be insufficient GME positions to remediate current, and prevent future, pediatric physician workforce shortages and provide the opportunity for all U.S. medical graduates to complete their GME training,” the authors write.
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