what determines number of residency slots?

[soreed]

i mean, you read an article like this:

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/29/business/29OBES.html

Hospitals Pressured by Soaring Demand for Obesity Surgery

and figure more surgical slots might start showing up. but that doesn't seem to be the case. like derm which is notorious for being competitive, partly because of the limited number of slots, one might figure more slots would open due to high demand.

so how's it work?

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[mpp]

Any new residency must be accredited and approved by both the ACGME residency committees and the specialty boards. These boards (which are run by doctors in those fields) want to protect their fields such that there is not an oversupply of certain types of doctors and hence a limit in available work/income they therefore limit the number of residenc positions available.

 

[edfig99]

the number of spots at a given residency is determined by educational need and patient volume as defined by the ACGME. For example, with all this hubbub about workhours, a surgery program can not increase its complement of residents just to make it easier to meet the scheduling needs. However, if the program hires a new subspecialty surgeon to meet some educational need, and this person is bringing with them a very high surgical volume that also may lead to increased volume in some of the general fields somehow, they may be able to increase their numbers (provided their space and resources can accomodate that)

because hospitals get a lot of money for residents, most of them are already maxed out with the number of residents they can have, so increasing is rather hard. they have to write a letter to the RRC for their program and beg....er...justify their request.

 

[carddr]

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$...bottom line.