Impending federal cuts in graduate medical education funding: an urgent threat to neurosurgery training and manpower.

摘要

The history of federal funding and consequently federal regulation of medical residency training started in the mid twentieth century when residency transformed from a poorly funded, voluntary practice to a requirement for medical licensure that is highly regulated and financially supported by the federal government. Between 1940 and i960, the total number of residency positions increased six-fold. This growth did not go unnoticed, and a bill was passed to subsidize residents with a living stipend and special funds for teaching hospitals (10). The investment by the federal government in graduate medical education (GME) was further strengthened in 1965 when Congress established Medicare and explicitly provided funding for residents. With the increasing complexity of postgraduate medical training, the Liaison Committee for Graduate Medical Education (later replaced by the American Council for Graduate Medical Education [ACGME]) was created in 1972.