Contents tagged with legislative budget board

  • Increase support for residency training and invest in Texas' health

    Tags: legislature, legislative budget board, 84th, graduate medical education, residency

    Tuesday, February 24, 2015 10:42:00 AM
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    By Blair Cushing
    Fourth-year TCOM student

    As a fourth-year medical student, I have spent the past four years highly concerned about what fate would await my classmates and me on Match Day, which is now only a few weeks away. With each passing year, the number of graduating medical students has climbed while the number of available first-year residency positions has remained stagnant. It is anticipated that in 2016, Texas medical schools will graduate 100 more doctors than available residency positions in the state. With three new medical schools expected to matriculate their first classes that fall, this number could easily rise to over 350 by the year 2020 in the absence of any new investment in graduate medical education.

    Despite Texas being one of the few states that currently uses state tax dollars to support GME, the dollars have not kept up with the need and more importantly, a flawed funding formula has prevented this money from being used in ways that align with the health care needs of our population. Fortunately, the 84th Texas Legislature affords us a unique opportunity to reform the way GME dollars are allocated in Texas.

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