What's New at GWUMC

The PME attendees, who included members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; members of The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC); employees of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); employees of Medicare; and representatives from AAMC, were welcomed by Dean Jim Scott, MD.  “The highest specialty care is performed in academic medical centers. To maintain this integrity, we are dedicated to four missions: education, community—both nationally and globally, patient care, and research,” he said.

 

A panel of GW medical students, residents, and doctors next shared their thoughts and experiences with the crowd. The discussion quickly turned to the topic of the diminishing number of primary care physicians, student debt, and the variety of personal and structural factors that influence medical students’ career choices.

 

Later, the participants listened to a lecture on personalized medicine-genomics given by Tim McCaffrey, PhD. Explaining the difficulty of approving drugs when their efficacy is based on population—rather than individual—statistics, he said, “A disease may occur in less than 1% of the population. But, when it is your daughter, your mother, your friend who is that percentage, the statistics are moot.”  Dr. McCaffrey continued to explain that while technologies exist that can predict an individual’s risk factor, legal and procedural barriers prevent their endorsement by doctors.

 

In the following lecture on workforce and quality issues, Candice Chen, MD, MPH sought to bring light to a recurring theme of the day, “How many doctors do we need?” Dr. Chen illustrated the disproportionate distribution of doctors across the District, the country, and the world. “The real question is not, ‘do we need more doctors?’ but ‘where are they?” she said. Her presentation sparked a discussion regarding whether or not universities should “import” international medical students, ultimately retaining them in the U.S.

 

In the afternoon, the PME participants experienced the cutting-edge techniques that are used to teach medical students, today. Split into three rotating groups, the attendees coached a doctor working with a standardized patient, attempted to revitalize a simulated patient in the Clinical Learning and Simulation Skills (CLASS) center, and went on rounds to visit a patient. They also had the opportunity to chat with Claudia Ranniger, MD, PhD; Jim Blatt, MD, and Karen Lewis, PhD, on the topic of Clinical Education.

 

Finally, Dean Yolanda Haywood, MD; Emily Morrison, MA; and Howard Straker, MPH, PA-C, spotlighted how GW plays a significant role in the DC community through programs such as DC Health Academic Program (DC HAPP), Interdisciplinary Student Community Oriented Prevention Enhancement Service (ISCOPES), and the DC Area Health Education Center (AHEC).

 

Though PME has successfully operated for a decade at other academic medical centers across the country, this year marked GW’s inaugural year as a host. "As our nation's leaders discuss options for health care reform, the AAMC believes George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences to be in a unique position to educate policymakers about the overlapping medical school/teaching hospital missions,” said Sallyann Bergh, MPA, Senior Communications Specialist, AAMC. “It is our hope that this experience at GW will encourage participants to apply their discoveries to their overall knowledge base and develop sound and thoughtful health policy solutions for the future."