Old Westbury, NY – New York Institute of Technology Vice President for Health Sciences and Medical Affairs, Barbara Ross-Lee, DO, will serve on a national committee responsible for recommending reforms to the graduate medical education system.

The nonprofit Institute of Medicine (IOM), the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences, selected Ross-Lee to join a roster of 18 other prominent medical professionals and scholars on its new committee studying the governance and financing of graduate medical education.

According to the IOM website, the committee will study the organizational structure of the graduate medical education system, including residency figures, specialty breakdowns, training sites, accreditation, and the relationships among different system stakeholders, including academic centers, emergency care providers, and community health centers.

"The issues of workforce supply and financing are challenging," said Ross-Lee, who oversees NYIT's College of Osteopathic Medicine and School of Health Professions. "Sometimes, the only solution to a challenge is a comprehensive assessment of 'what is' combined with a needs assessment for 'what should be.'"

Earlier this month, the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine endorsed legislation that would create 15,000 new graduate medical education slots over the next five years to help address a national physician shortage.

Ross-Lee said there are two major challenges to reforming the graduate medical education system: determining how to produce an adequate number of residency positions and ensuring that the distribution of medical specialties is capable of meeting the needs of the nation over time. Among the major issues that Ross-Lee and her colleagues will consider are: the rise of the nation's aging and underserved populations, the growth of chronic disabilities, increased costs, and disparities in accessibility.

The Institute of Medicine committee also will hold a public workshop and solicit comments on a website before issuing its final report aimed at ensuring the physician workforce meets the needs of a 21st century U.S. healthcare system.

Major funders for the committee's work include the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, the Department of Veterans' Affairs, United Healthcare, The Jewish Health Care Foundation, the California Health Care Foundation, the Commonwealth Fund, Kaiser Permanente Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Missouri Foundation for Health.

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New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) offers 90 degree programs, including undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees, in more than 50 fields of study, including architecture and design; arts and sciences; education; engineering and computing sciences; health professions; management; and osteopathic medicine. A non-profit independent, private institution of higher education, NYIT has 14,000 students attending campuses on Long Island and Manhattan, online, and at its global campuses. NYIT sponsors 11 NCAA Division II programs and one Division I team.

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