AACU Sentinel Vol. 2013 Issue 01 - Winter 2013 | Page 4

Continued from page 3 When you compound this with the 300-pound SGR gorilla on the backs of providers, a physician shortage can spell out a real crisis in this country. The urologic workforce is aging; the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) released a survey in 2008 estimating 50% of all urologists in the US are over the age of 55. While the physician supply is only expecting a 7% increase over the next 10 years, some specialties like urology will actually see a decrease. At the same time the Census Bureau projects a 36% growth in people over the age of 65. At this year’s Joint Advocacy Conference, urologists are taking to Capitol Hill to tell Congress to: End the freeze on residency training. Re-evaluate the concept of treating all specialties the same when it comes to support for Graduate Medical Education. Increase funding to support urologic resident educational needs, resident training slots, and academic urology teaching subsidization. If you have questions on this or any other Federal issue please contact us at [email protected]. Actively Protect Your Patients and Practice — Visit Action Alerts at AACUweb.org UROPAC Update: With a Little Help from Our Friends political agenda, growing our relationships with friendly members of Congress and supporting candidates for Congress who support our legislative agenda. It is critical for urology as a profession to have its voice heard on Capitol Hill through a bipartisan political action committee that supports members of Congress and candidates running for Congress who are helpful to the urology community. By: Gary M. Kirsh, MD, UROPAC Chair As the song goes, we get by with a little help from our friends. As UROPAC chair, tant it is for members to buy into what we are doing. Not just contributing their dollars, but really understanding the need for our PAC and what it accomplishes for our spec