I consider it an honor to represent the men and women who educate and train our healers. The noble work that is undertaken each and every day in New Jersey’s teaching hospitals to provide the highly skilled medical professionals that treat patients here in the Garden State and all across our nation is something of which we at the New Jersey Council of Teaching Hospitals are proud to play a small part. Particularly during these times of policy uncertainty in Washington and a budget crisis in Trenton, our endeavor to assure that there will always be an adequate physician workforce becomes even more challenging - and even more essential.
The Council represents eleven teaching hospitals encompassing over 800 Medical/Surgical residents. Our collective voice helps to educate the public and public policymakers on issues such as graduate medical education, quality of care, patient safety, and curriculum development. The Council also performs the exit surveys on medical/surgical residents when they graduate to find out their future plans to better understand and address the reasons why many leave. The Council’s Academic Affairs Council – open to all teaching hospitals – is currently preparing the future standards for clerkship training.
Our recently completed “Physician Workforce Policy Task Force Report,” which can be found at the following link
http://www.njcth.org/getmedia/5b820448-8791-46e5-aa70-d690dbcbb99f/FINAL-NJ-Physician-Workforce-Report-012910.aspx , has spurred a much-needed statewide discussion about just how New Jersey will attract and retain the physicians it will need in the years ahead. As the report points out, accomplishing this mission will not be easy. It will take a sustained and collaborative effort that engages the health care community, public policy makers and the public at large. The Council stands ready to lead that effort.
Twenty years ago, the New Jersey Council of Teaching Hospitals unanimously adopted a “credo” which guides us yet today:
We strive to be a national leader in health care delivery, health professions education, and biomedical research.
We will provide a high quality, enriching education environment for physicians, dentists, nurses, and allied health professionals.
The trust placed in us by those we serve will be supported with care and integrity and will be reflected in all of the actions taken by our institutions.
Our physicians, dentists, nurses, allied health professionals, and employees are our most important resources. We will attract nationally recognized health care experts and exceptional individuals at every level of our organization. We will provide our employees fair compensation and opportunities for personal and professional growth.
We are committed to serving the diverse needs of our entire community: the young and the old, rich and poor, and those living in urban and rural areas, irrespective of ethnic background.
Our services will be accessible, cost effective, and of the highest quality while we attempt to achieve a fair and reasonable balance between community needs and available resources.
We will maintain the financial strength and integrity necessary to fulfill our mission.
Those words were chosen carefully and remind us of our important mission.
J. Richard Goldstein, MD
President