Doctors-in-training are going to be working longer hours, Harvard Medical School’s therapy dog is missing, the medical community takes a stand against the Obamacare replacement bill, and a financial aid startup aims to help new doctors manage their debt. Here’s a look at the latest in medical school news. 24-hour shifts for new doctors There’s been a big change in how doctors are trained. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has lifted the 16-hour cap for first-year doctors working in hospitals, now allowing them to work 24-hour shifts instead. While this may seem to be a net negative for new doctors, the Council says that it’s a pro-patient measure that will allow physicians to better track those under their care, resulting in fewer hand-offs to fellow doctors who are less familiar with their cases. “What we want is to be able to say at the end of residency that we have a physician who is highly trained and is ready to go out into practice,” said Rowen K. Zetterman, co-chairman of a task force that spent years looking into this. He points out that doctors work up to 70 hours per week for much of their professional lives anyway. (The Washington Post) Missing therapy dog Hopefully this story will have a happy ending soon… Cooper, Harvard Medical School’s therapy dog, has been reported missing. The beloved 9-year-old Shih Tzu disappeared last week and, so far, an exhaustive search via posters, social media, and hitting the pavement has turned up few clues. Naturally, the Cambridge community is upset. “He was part of our family. People would come by and they would play with Cooper. I would take him out for a walk. Just last Tuesday, we went out for a walk. He’s part of our community,” said one local residents who has worked with Cooper. Therapy dogs, as you may know, can play an important role in patient’s recovery, especially psychological recovery, offering love, support, and companionship. (CBS-Boston) Doctors sound off on Obamacare replacement Healthcare is one of the most complicated and divisive public policy issues in the country, as you probably well know. That explains why it’s not very often that major changes are implemented—and when there are major changes, there is often a backlash of fierce opposition. That’s certainly been the story of the Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare). While support for it is at a record high, President Trump and Congressional Republicans have doubled down on repealing and replacing it with something called the American Health Care Act, which among other things, would eliminate the personal mandate. Critics say the AHCA would result in millions losing their insurance. Among those coming out strongly against the AHCA—though also seeing the need for changes to Obamacare—is the American Medical Association, the organization that represents thousands of doctors across the United States. “While we agree that there are problems with the ACA that must be addressed, we cannot support the AHCA as drafted because of the expected decline in health insurance coverage and the potential harm it would cause to vulnerable patient populations.” The AMA is a powerful voice on Capitol Hill, so time will tell how effective their opposition is. Source
