In April, a panel of AMA leaders took to YouTube for a live town hall to shed light on the most pressing issues facing physicians during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Below, get answers to the questions you asked on how the AMA is advocating for resident and fellow physicians during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Will residents receive hazard pay or loan forgiveness for working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic?
Relaxation of federal regulations around physician compensation mean that individual hospitals and health care systems are now able to offer residents and employed physicians benefits like hazard pay, but no regulation currently exists to make this a compulsory benefit.
The CARES Act currently offers a variety of benefits to medical students and resident physicians, including deferred repayment and flexibility on federal student loans, and a new bill was recently introduced by New York Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney to establish a student loan-forgiveness program for health care workers on the frontline of the coronavirus response.
What is being done to support residents who are in the unique position of being frontline responders without the same benefits and protections as employed physicians?
Residents across all specialties are being pulled into high risk environments to treat COVID-19 patients in emergency departments and intensive care units. The AMA Council on Medical Education strongly encourages programs, sponsoring institutions and national organizations to adopt a set of guiding principles to protect resident & fellow physicians which include provisions for hazard pay and access to appropriate PPE.
Is the AMA offering any support on ACGME requirements at this time?
In order to help address the disruption of undergraduate and graduate medical education, the AMA is offering free access to a selection of critical online education resources to all medical students, residents and medical educators.
Six modules from the AMA’s GME Competency Education Program with free transcript tracking capabilities are available now for residency programs.
What can fourth year medical students who are applying to residency this year expect?
Graduate medical training has been substantially disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but programs and sponsoring institutions have already begun to explore new medical training options.
Read the AMA’s guidance for medical students or view the COVID-19 Update interviews with residents and medical education experts from April 23 and May 12 to see how training is already beginning to adapt to changed circumstances.
Read official recommendations on away rotations and in-person interviews for 2020-2021 residency cycle from the Coalition for Physician Accountability
Table of Contents
- Will residents receive hazard pay or loan forgiveness for working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic?
- What is being done to support residents who are in the unique position of being frontline responders without the same benefits and protections as employed physicians?
- Is the AMA offering any support on ACGME requirements at this time?
- What can fourth year medical students who are applying to residency this year expect?
