Sham Wow: AAEM Packs a Punch
So, who doesn’t remember and love the “Sham Wow” guy? Well, the American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) has released a new position statement on the state of emergency medicine and it’s going to sting. That’s why I say “Wow!” It reads:
The Academy asserts that the corporate practice of emergency medicine diminishes the quality of care provided to emergency patients and interferes with the relationship between the physician and the patient. We assert that there is a conflict of interest between profit and education when corporations run residency programs. We oppose the use of the term “residency” to describe the training of nurse practitioners and physician assistants. We contend that these NPP training programs have no place in the emergency department in an environment where resident physicians are unable to find employment due to supply-demand mismatch that currently exists and is predicted to continue or worsen.
“there is a conflict of interest between profit and education when corporations run residency programs”
Yes.
And there is a conflict of interest between profit and patient care when corporations employ physicians.
But none of our medical societies will acknowledge that.
It might piss off their corporate overlords.