Perspectives
A Word From the President
Tuesday, May 29, 2018
Leading in Challenging Times
by Darrell G. Kirch, MD, AAMC President and CEO
Supporting the Next Generation as the Physician Shortage Becomes Reality
by Darrell G. Kirch, MD, AAMC President and CEO
Viewpoints
Monday, June 11, 2018
Cancer and Our Kids: We Can Do Better
by Lois Ramondetta, MD
Less than half of U.S. teenagers have been protected against HPV. Here’s why physicians must do more to promote timely vaccination—and how.
Tuesday, May 15, 2018
Right Before Match Day, I Changed Specialties
by Aaron Parzuchowski
For many medical students, finding the right specialty isn’t always straightforward. One student talks about what led him to change course at the last minute, and how his career has benefited in the long run.
Every day, 20 people die waiting for an organ transplant. Every 10 minutes, someone new is added to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) national transplant waiting list.
If you need a kidney—the organ most in demand—you might wait three to five years on the UNOS list before being matched. A liver or lung transplant could take six months to a year.
What’s more, the number of people on the waiting list continues to far outstrip supply. In 2016, more than 115,000 Americans were waiting for an organ, but just 16,000 people donated. Yet 5,000 organs were discarded from deceased donors in 2016 alone, according to a 2017 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
In light of these startling statistics, academic medical centers have been exploring new ways to boost the supply of viable organs. The use of organs from so-called marginal donors—defined as those who are older or who have diabetes, hypertension, or even infectious diseases such as Hepatitis C or HIV—has opened new avenues for research, says Janis Orlowski, MD, a transplant nephrologist and AAMC chief health care officer. So has improving the transport of organs to limit tissue damage.
“Reducing the number of discarded organs could help fill a critical need for organs,” Orlowski says.
Academic Medicine in the News
Thursday, June 21, 2018
High School Students Learn About Health Care Field
The University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences hosted thirty-nine high school freshmen from underserved areas at the CampMed summer program. Students learned how to use medical instruments, make a cast, and suture in addition to other hands-on lessons throughout the two-day program.
Thursday, June 21, 2018
Patients Receive Free Cataract Surgery During Cataract-A-Thon
Fifty patients with cataracts received free corrective surgery at the second annual Cataract-A-Thon, a collaboration between University of Tennessee Health Science Center and community partners. The event benefits patients without the financial means to obtain the sight-saving procedure.
Thursday, June 21, 2018
Discovery Offers Path to Better Diagnosis of Endometriosis
Researchers from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine found that patients with endometriosis have an increased number of Myeloid-derived suppressor cells in their blood. It’s estimated that 10% to 20% of American women are affected by the disease, which can cause severe pain, irregular bleeding, and infertility.
