The Graduate Medical Education (GME) Gold Rush: GME Slots and Funding as a Financial Asset

Abstract

The unprecedented displacement of more than 550 trainees that occurred because of the closure of Hahnemann University Hospital has demonstrated that the medical education community, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education were unprepared for a graduate medical education (GME) crisis of this scale. The authors offer a first-hand perspective of the chaotic environment that ensued following the announcement of the hospital's closure and of the challenges faced by trainees and program leadership looking to ensure trainees found a landing program that was a good fit for them. The authors review the complexity of GME funding and how the owners of Hahnemann University Hospital leveraged this in an attempt to offset debt. The lessons learned from the authors' experience can help inform the medical education community's response to this type of crisis in the future.