10
COM Outlook . Fall 2012
White Coat Ceremony: Class of
2016
Earns Warm Welcome
On July 29, the class of 2016 was of-
ficially welcomed into the osteopathic
profession at the 32
nd
Annual White
Coat Ceremony, which was held at the
Signature Grand in Davie. For the 230-
plus students comprising the class of
2016,
the White Coat Ceremony
served as an auspicious
experience that officially
marked their entry into
the medical profession.
In the presence of
family, guests, and
faculty members, the
students were welcomed
into the medical community
by leaders of the osteopathic
profession and ceremonially “cloaked” with their white coats. By
establishing this meaningful ritual at the beginning of medical
school, the intent is to make students aware of their responsi-
bilities from the first day of training and convey the message
that doctors should “care” as well as “cure.”
Graduate Medical Education
Reform Legislation Pending
U.S. Representatives Aaron Schock (R-IL) and Allyson Y. Schwartz
(
D-PA) introduced a legislative bill to address the physician shortage
and ensure greater accountability among hospitals overseeing the na-
tion’s medical residency training programs.
“
The United States is already facing the reality of having a significant
shortfall in trained doctors and medical professionals, and this short-
age will only continue to grow if we don’t begin to address the problem
now,” said Congressman Schock. “It’s estimated by 2015, the country
will have over 62,000 fewer doctors than needed. The primary way our
country can address the physician shortage is by ensuring we increase
the number of graduate medical education slots. By doing so, we are
increasing the number of medical school graduates who will receive
hands-on training in a patient setting to gain the experience needed to
become a practicing physician.”
The Resident Physician Shortage Reduction and Graduate Medi-
cal Education Accountability Act would create 15,000 new graduate
medical education (GME) slots—3,000 per year for five years. While the
bill creates two methods to apply for the slots, each hospital would be
restricted to a maximum of 75 additional slots.
The bill would require a payment adjustment of two percent to hospi-
tals if the hospital fails to meet specific patient care quality measures to
be developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in
consultation with accrediting bodies, by January 1, 2015. In addition, the
bill requires the Government Accountability Office to
•
report on physician specialties with shortages
•
provide strategies to enhance health professional workforce diversity
•
furnish annual reports describing how the increased funding
has been used
Student Activism on Display
at House of Delegates
In July, OMS-III Carisa
Lippmann, Student Govern-
ment Association president,
and OMS-II Elyse Julian,
president elect (left), served
as state delegates to the
American Osteopathic Asso-
ciation House of Delegates
annual meeting held in
Chicago, Illinois. In this role,
the duo represented NSU-COM at the Council of Osteopathic
Student Government Presidents and National Osteopathic
Student Caucus gatherings. Showcasing their student activism,
Lippmann and Julian debated legislative issues such as H-410
(
Providing Medical Care in Areas of Active Conflict), H-208
(
Study New Methods of Residency Funding), and H-400 (Is
Your Doctor a Physician?)
In addition, they discussed a resolution that was subse-
quently passed by the House of Delegates and added to its
ethics code: H-500 – Amendment to the AOA Code of Ethics
to Include Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.
