For Immediate Release: March 21, 2013
Newswise — DALLAS – The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) today strongly endorsed “Training Tomorrow’s Doctors Today Act” (H.R. 1201), proposed legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives that would create 15,000 new residency training positions in the United States and add much-needed physicians to the nation’s health care workforce.
FSMB CEO and President Humayun J. Chaudhry, DO, FACP, commended Reps. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) and Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.) for introducing the legislation on March 14.
“Graduate medical education is at the very core of how we train tomorrow’s physicians and ensure their ability to provide quality care to patients across the United States,” Dr. Chaudhry said. “I applaud Representatives Schwartz and Schock on their bipartisan leadership in introducing this important legislation, which comes at a critical time for both patients and providers alike. Together, we must find commonsense solutions to address an imminent shortage of physicians that will struggle to meet the health care needs of an aging population over the next twenty years. This legislation is a vital step in the right direction.” According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the nation’s physician shortage is projected to climb to 90,000 by 2020. While the nation’s medical schools are on track to increase their enrollment significantly to help meet the needs of a growing and aging population, the overall supply of U.S.-trained physicians cannot increase without more residency training slots.
“The United States is on the cusp of a crisis in access to both specialty and primary care physicians. We have an urgent need to take action to ensure Americans have access to quality, well trained doctors,” said Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz. “While there will be more than 74 million American seniors in need of health care services within 20 years, experts estimate that 130,000 new physicians will be necessary to eliminate the workforce shortage by 2025. This bipartisan legislation is critical.”
“In the U.S. we are facing a significant physician shortage that will only increase in severity unless action is taken soon. Every eight seconds another Baby Boomer turns 65 so it’s incumbent upon us to ensure we have a prepared physician workforce in place to meet the growing health care demands on our country,” said Rep. Schock. “The primary way our country can address the physician shortage is by ensuring we increase the number of Graduate Medical Education slots. By doing so, we are increasing the number of medical school graduates who will receive hands-on training in a patient setting to gain the experience needed to become a practicing physician.”
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About the FSMBThe FSMB is a national non-profit organization representing all medical boards within the United States and its territories that license and discipline allopathic and osteopathic physicians and, in some jurisdictions, other health care professionals. It assists these state and territorial medical boards as they go about their mandate of protecting the public’s health, safety and welfare. The FSMB leads by promoting excellence in medical practice, licensure, and regulation. For more information, please visit www.fsmb.org.
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