7 tips for physicians looking to connect with lawmakers

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Advocating for your patients and your practice 365 days a year to ensure Congress is passing laws that will have the most positive impact on medicine has never been more important.

For starters, even prior to the pandemic more groups were bringing advocates to Washington to meet with legislators multiple times throughout the year. That makes it increasingly important for physicians and their patients to also reach out to legislators in many ways over the course of the year so that their voices are heard, expert David Lusk told physicians at the 2021 AMA National Advocacy Conference.

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What a First-Year Medical School Student Can Expect

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Walking into the lecture hall, I didn't really know what to expect. Sitting among 100 other new first-year medical students, I began to take notes on the histology lecture but found I wasn't sure what to write down. The professor moved through the PowerPoint slides too quickly for me to write down anything meaningful – in fact, everything he said seemed significant and likely testable.

In the first few weeks of medical school, the adage of "medical school is like drinking from a fire hose" came true. After abandoning note-taking, I tried printing the lectures but found even that task not entirely feasible because I was printing 30 or 40 pages for a single one-hour lecture!

Starting med school is a major adjustment. I found I wasn't alone having difficulty drinking from the fire hose as my classmates shared the same sentiments. However, in time and with plenty of diligence and support from my peers, the first year of med school and the subsequent years became some of the best years of my life.

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The Problem with U.S. Health Care Isn’t a Shortage of Doctors

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The coronavirus epidemic is increasing demands on health care’s frontline, primary care physicians. Even before the outbreak emerged, conventional wisdom held that we’re facing a PCP shortage. Quartz this July warned of a “devastating” doctor shortage poised to strike America. Later that month, the Washington Post chimed in with “America to face a shortage of primary care physicians within a decade or so.” Indeed, estimates from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) indicate that the U.S. could face a shortfall of between 21,000 and 55,000 primary care doctors by 2023. Add to this the spikes in demand from Covid-19 and any future epidemics, and the challenge might seem insurmountable.

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What the elimination of a major medical licensing exam — Step 2 CS — means for students and schools

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The pandemic put the Step 2 Clinical Skills test temporarily on hold, but now USMLE leaders say it’s gone for good. Here’s what drove the decision — and what lies ahead.

Now that a major, 17-year-old medical licensing exam is gone, educators and students are feeling their way forward.

The daylong, in-person Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) test — designed to assess aspiring doctors’ communication and physical exam techniques — was put on hold last March in response to the pandemic. Then, in a shift that shocked many observers, the exam’s sponsors — the Federation of State Medical Boards and the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) — announced on Jan. 26 that they were no longer exploring how to revive it.

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Salaries in Healthcare launches world’s first global salary comparison website for healthcare professionals, dentists

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What would you make halfway around the world? Salaries in Healthcare, a new United Kingdom-based company, provides global data on salaries of doctors, dentists, and healthcare professionals globally. The site also includes information on working conditions and personalized reports for healthcare workers looking to move abroad.

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Telemedicine in Healthcare Solves Lack of Physician Availability

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We think physician availability is one of healthcare’s biggest problems as we head into 2020. The use of telemedicine in healthcare can solve this problem.

You’ve probably heard the announcements by airline pilots warning that “we might encounter some turbulence” on the flight ahead. For the hospital industry—at least as far as the physician shortage is concerned—the announcements are long since over. We’re flying directly through the turbulence as we enter 2020, and it’s only going to get bumpier in the decade ahead.

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Using Telehealth to Expand Access to Essential Health Services during the COVID-19 Pandemic

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Background

Changes in the way that health care is delivered during this pandemic are needed to reduce staff exposure to ill persons, preserve personal protective equipment (PPE), and minimize the impact of patient surges on facilities. Healthcare systems have had to adjust the way they triage, evaluate, and care for patients using methods that do not rely on in-person services. Telehealth services help provide necessary care to patients while minimizing the transmission risk of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, to healthcare personnel (HCP) and patients.

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Medical Careers at the Forefront of the Rural Healthcare Crisis

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When you made the decision to invest your life in the world of healthcare, you chose to make a difference. How can you make the most of the challenges you have endured throughout your training to become a medical provider? From some, the answer lies in placing yourself into an environment that needs you most. The refreshing reality is that you will be able to give in these communities and experience tremendous advantages.

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