REPORT OF COUNCIL ON MEDICAL EDUCATION
CME Report 3-A-06
Subject: Role of Texas Medical Association in Informing State Legislators About Medical Education Process
Presented by: Stanley Fisch, MD, Chair
Referred to: Reference Committee on Science and Education
At the September 2005 meeting of the Council on Medical Education, medical deans conveyed the importance of Texas legislators being adequately informed of the medical education process. This would better prepare legislators for making appropriate medical education funding decisions during legislative sessions. State legislators often have limited knowledge of the medical education process and are commonly unaware of the distinction between undergraduate and graduate medical education. This confusion can cause a legislator to fail to recognize the need to maintain state funding processes for both undergraduate and graduate levels of medical education. Further, there is the need to clarify the limited and diminishing availability of funding for graduate medical education from federal and local sources, resulting in greater necessity for state support.
Because of regular turnover within the legislature and a steady barrage of information directed at legislators each session, there is a need for regular updating of key legislative members on medical education during legislative interim periods. At a minimum, legislators should be informed of the following:
- Education and training requirements for becoming a physician with (a) synopsis of the medical education curriculum and length of time required for individual phases of the education and training periods; (b) licensure requirements; and (c) comparison of educational and training requirements for physicians with other health professionals;
- Current trends in physician demand;
- Economic impact of academic health centers, regional and state; and
- Important role of academic health centers in providing services, particularly to Medicaid, and uninsured, indigent populations.
Legislators who have awareness of the value medical education brings to the state and changes in physician demand, as well as the level of critical funding needs for educating sufficient numbers of physicians, likely will be better prepared to make budget decisions during the legislative session. On this basis, the council recommends adoption of the following TMA policy:
Recommendation : To help state legislators be better prepared to make funding decisions on medical education programs, the Texas Medical Association should, in partnership with Texas medical schools, educate members prior to each legislative session on: (1) the educational requirements for becoming a physician; (2) current demand for physicians; (3) economic impact of academic health centers on their communities and the state; and (4) the important role of academic health centers in providing services to Medicaid and uninsured, indigent Texans.
TMA House of Delegates: TexMed 2006
Last Updated On
June 24, 2010
Originally Published On
March 23, 2010