Perspectives
A Word From the President
Tuesday, July 31, 2018
What Americans think about medical schools and teaching hospitals
by Darrell G. Kirch, MD, AAMC President and CEO
“That’s when I knew I wanted to be a doctor”
by Darrell G. Kirch, MD, AAMC President and CEO
Viewpoints
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
A rude awakening
by Julie Kim, MD, PhD
From chronic absences to nasty emails, unprofessional behavior can derail even the most promising medical student’s career. The chair of one school’s conduct committee has a solution.
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.
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, August 09, 2018
New podcast highlights work done at UMass Medical School
The University of Massachusetts Medical School launched a new podcast called Voices of UMassMed that examines the stories behind the research, patient care, and medical education being done at the university. Each episode highlights the work of one faculty member.
Thursday, August 09, 2018
Potential key to unlocking the immune system in pancreatic cancer discovered
Researchers at the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center have shown that a molecule called interleukin-35 plays a role in suppressing cancer-fighting immune cells in pancreatic cancer, a breakthrough that could boost immune-based treatments.
Thursday, August 09, 2018
Distraction pads help keep patients busy — and safe
Volunteers at the Mayo Clinic have created a distraction pad — designed with zippers, buttons, and different types of fabric — to help reduce anxiety and agitation for patients undergoing procedures. Both the pediatric and neurology departments now have specialized pads created for their unique patient populations.
