Archive: Dec 2015

1. The new Connecticut State Conference AAUP Newsletter

   December 22, 2015 3:15 pm Comments Off on The new Connecticut State Conference AAUP Newsletter

   See the latest edition here.

2. GOP pushes for moreNIH funding

   December 21, 2015 11:39 pm Comments Off on GOP pushes for moreNIH funding

   WASHINGTON

   The National Institutes of Health could see its biggest budget increase in more than a decade as part of a $1.1 trillion spending bill Congress will vote on Friday.

   Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, Rep. Kevin Yoder of Kansas and other conservatives in Congress spearheaded the push to boost NIH’s funding by $2 billion – a billion more than requested by the Obama administration.

   A letter to GOP leadership signed by more than 100 Republicans in the House of Representatives last month had advocated for an even higher increase of $3 billion.

   Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/congress/article50129795.html?utm_campaign=KHN%3A+Daily+Health+Policy+Report&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=24693359&_hsenc=p2ANqtz–5mp55SkbAcz4zoU1qu0uf5nOoxskJ0UU74wp-yx455HBnyu2asO0eM0eXCGpQFs5KPBWFLHFFaktvhK7JnHfUs3s-4unWyQtltgaXMP_U5LmE5jA&_hsmi=24693359#storylink=cpy

3. Critics seek hard look at Yale–L+M deal, hospital market power

   11:36 pm Comments Off on Critics seek hard look at Yale–L+M deal, hospital market power

   A group of unions and advocacy organizations are calling for state regulators to take a hard look at the growth in power and market concentration of large health systems in Connecticut – and what that means for patients – when they review the Yale New Haven Health System’s proposed acquisition of New London’s Lawrence + Memorial Hospital.

4. New Kaiser Permanente Med School

   11:08 am Comments Off on New Kaiser Permanente Med School

   Thursday’s announcement by Kaiser Permanente that it plans to open its own medical school in Southern California has attracted a lot of attention in the health care community.

   But Kaiser is actually at the trailing edge of a medical school expansion that has been unmatched since the 1960s and 1970s, say medical education experts. (Kaiser Health News is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.) In the past decade alone, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges, 20 new medical schools have opened or been approved.

5. Changes in Burnout and Satisfaction With Work-Life Balance in Physicians and the General US Working Population Between 2011 and 2014

   December 3, 2015 2:10 pm Comments Off on Changes in Burnout and Satisfaction With Work-Life Balance in Physicians and the General US Working Population Between 2011 and 2014

   Abstract

   Objective

   To evaluate the prevalence of burnout and satisfaction with work-life balance in physicians and US workers in 2014 relative to 2011.

   Patients and Methods

   From August 28, 2014, to October 6, 2014, we surveyed both US physicians and a probability-based sample of the general US population using the methods and measures used in our 2011 study. Burnout was measured using validated metrics, and satisfaction with work-life balance was assessed using standard tools.

   Results

   Of the 35,922 physicians who received an invitation to participate, 6880 (19.2%) completed surveys. When assessed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory, 54.4% (n=3680) of the physicians reported at least 1 symptom of burnout in 2014 compared with 45.5% (n=3310) in 2011 (P<.001). Satisfaction with work-life balance also declined in physicians between 2011 and 2014 (48.5% vs 40.9%; P<.001). Substantial differences in rates of burnout and satisfaction with work-life balance were observed by specialty. In contrast to the trends in physicians, minimal changes in burnout or satisfaction with work-life balance were observed between 2011 and 2014 in probability-based samples of working US adults, resulting in an increasing disparity in burnout and satisfaction with work-life balance in physicians relative to the general US working population. After pooled multivariate analysis adjusting for age, sex, relationship status, and hours worked per week, physicians remained at an increased risk of burnout (odds ratio, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.80-2.16; P<.001) and were less likely to be satisfied with work-life balance (odds ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.62-0.75; P<.001).

   Conclusion

   Burnout and satisfaction with work-life balance in US physicians worsened from 2011 to 2014. More than half of US physicians are now experiencing professional burnout.