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          Feature Articles: Advocacy Connects Residents to Larger Purpose.

AMA APPLAUDS OSHA DECISION ON RESIDENT WORK HOURS.     CHICAGO – November 9, 2011 – The American Medical Association (AMA) applauded the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) decision to allow the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) to continue to serve as the regulatory body for medical resident work hours.
       “The ACGME is the appropriate body to regulate and monitor resident duty hours, as it is optimally suited to oversee resident and fellow physician duty hours on behalf of both the profession and the public,” said AMA President Peter W. Carmel, M.D. “We are pleased that OSHA agrees.”
         Last year, Public Citizen petitioned for OSHA to regulate resident work hours instead of ACGME. In response, the AMA sent a letter to OSHA in September of 2010 in support of ACGME as the proper oversight body for resident work hours. OSHA recently denied Public Citizen’s petition, allowing ACGME to continue to regulate resident work hours.

Study: Medical Residents Often Dissatisfied, Suffering From Burnout.   The Minneapolis Star Tribune (9/7, Crosby) reports, "Finding ways to keep a lid on the pressure is becoming ever more difficult for doctors-in-training, according to a new Mayo Clinicstudy " published in the Sept. 7 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. "Large numbers are burned out, depressed and becoming increasingly cynical about their work." In addition, "they're deep in debt and finding it impossible to balance work and life." 
         HealthDay (9/7, Doheny) report that after evaluating the "results of surveys and exams given to nearly 17,000 internal medicine residents, who were said to represent about 75 percent of all US internal medicine residents in the 2008-9 academic year," asking them about their quality of life, work-life balance, amount of educational debt, and whether they experienced burnout, researchers found that 46% "said they were feeling emotionally exhausted at least once a week," while over 50% admitted to at least one symptom indicative of burnout. 
         Medscape (9/7, Lowes) reports, "Internal medicine (IM) residents experienced more symptoms of burnout and scored lower on a standardized medical test if their educational debt was higher." Notably, "the same pattern emerged for two manifestations of burnout: emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, which presents itself as a calloused, cynical mindset." In fact, "these scores climbed in tandem with educational debt." 
         Majority Of US Medical Schools Offer Insufficient Mental Health Coverage. Medscape (9/7, Brauser) reports, "Most medical schools in the United States do not offer health insurance plans that sufficiently cover mental health or substance abuse treatment," according to a research letter published in Sept. 7 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Only about one third of the institutions "evaluated offered unlimited monetary and visit benefits." The study authors noted that "this is particularly 'worrisome,' because past research has shown that requiring copayments or coinsurance often discourages students from seeking help for their mental health or substance abuse problems."

Report Calls For Limiting All Resident Physician Shifts To No More Than 16 Hours:  Reuters (6/24, Seaman) reports that, according to a report published today in the Nature & Science of Sleep journal, a group consisting of 26 physicians and experts on patient safety are urging that limits be placed on the length of work shifts of all resident physicians so that shifts do not last more than 12 to 16 hours at a stretch. As of July 1, first-year medical residents will no longer have to work more than 16 consecutive hours at a time, but this rule does not apply to other medical residents. Reuters points out that the new resident shift rules going into effect next week are grounded in recommendations made by the Institute of Medicine. 

RESIDENTS’ AND FELLOWS’ BILL OF RIGHTS: The AMA today adopted a “Residents’ and Fellows’ Bill of Rights,” which outlines the rights of residents and fellows in the areas of education, supervision, evaluations of performance, safe workplace, compensation and benefits, duty hours, complaints and appeals process, and protection when reporting violations. The policy was adopted as part of a report from the AMA’s Council on Medical Education.

“Medical residents and fellows deserve a safe and supportive place to work and learn, with the resources and rest they need to best serve their patients,” said AMA Board Member Rebecca Patchin, M.D. “The hands-on experience gained during residencies and fellowships is critical for physicians, and this bill of rights lays out clear, unifying standards for these programs across the country.”
          Other Articles:  New Duty-Hour Rules Present Challenges
                                   Supreme Court Upholds Tax on Medical Residents
                                   Group Urges Worker Protections for Medical Residents
                                   Nurture You Resilience and You'll Avoid Burnout
                                   New Federal Program Aims to Help Heathcare Professionals Pay Off Student Loans
                                   Justices Reluctant to Let Medical Residents Skip Taxes                
                                   Shorter Work Shifts, Stricter Supervision Approved for Medical Residents
                                   Demand For Psychiatrists Climbing Faster Than For Any Other Medical Specialty
                                   Supreme Court To Consider Medical Residents' Exemption From Tax Rule.
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Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Minority Fellowship Invites Applicants
Psychiatry residents are invited to apply for the APA/SAMHSA Minority Fellowship Program. The fellowship provides educational opportunities not only to minority residents, but to any resident interested in providing quality and effective service to minorities and the underserved.  The fellowship provides the funds necessary for psychiatry residents to experience a specialized educational program specifically geared toward building leaders in psychiatry to improve the quality of mental health care for the following federally recognized ethnic minority groups: American Indians, Native Alaskans, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, Native Pacific Islanders, African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos. The fellowship is also designed to involve the resident in the work of the association and to give APA the perspective of young psychiatrists. Application Deadline is January 31, 2012.  Learn more about the APA/SAMHSA Fellows on the APA fellowship webpage or contact Marilyn King at (703) 907-8653 or mking@psych.org. http://www.psych.org/Resources/OMNA/MFP.aspx