WCMEW Council Reviews 2016 Physician Workforce Report
The Wisconsin Council on Medical Education and Workforce (WCMEW), at their March 15 meeting, reviewed a draft of the 2016 physician workforce report,
“A Work In Progress: Building Wisconsin’s Future Physician Workforce,” prepared by George Quinn, WCMEW executive director. The report included the status of recommendations from the 2011 physician workforce report, projections for the year 2035 and a new set of recommendations.
Quinn reported that progress has been made on the recommendations from the 2011 report, including:
- A new state-funded graduate medical education (GME) grant program, funding 11 new or expanded programs in primary care, general surgery and psychiatry;
- New campuses being opened by the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), and expansion of existing rural/inner city programs by the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (UW); and,
- Better understanding of changes in care delivery through WCMEW’s two statewide conferences on team-based care in 2014 and 2015.
Quinn shared a preliminary draft of the 2016 report, which will be released later this spring.
In other business, the Council:
- Heard from Sandy Anderson, chair of the Post-Graduate Work Group, about plans for a statewide GME conference scheduled for May, and a proposed survey of medical students and GME residents to understand their impressions of their training experiences and future plans;
- Reviewed and approved suggested changes in the mission and charge of the Care Transformation Work Group (chaired by Sarah Sorum, PharmD) to include additional elements, including telemedicine;
- Voiced support for a proposal presented by Gina Dennik-Champion, executive director of the Wisconsin Nurses Association, to convene regional meetings to discuss challenges and progress in implementing team-based care; and,
- Provided feedback to Tim Size, chair of the WCMEW Data Collaborative, on how to address the outdated forecast of nursing supply and demand in Wisconsin. The State currently has no plan to update their 2012 forecast with either 2014 or 2016 re-licensure data. Size and Quinn will schedule a meeting with the Governor’s office.
Questions or comments should be directed to George Quinn at
gquinn@wcmew.org or 608-516-5189.
This story originally appeared in the March 18, 2016 edition of WHA Newsletter