Graduate Medical Education (GME)

While Medicare funds some of the costs of GME, it uses an outdated formula that funds only a share of costs for residencies that existed over 25 years ago (1996), leaving over half of THOT member hospitals’ historic GME positions unfunded.

Texas funds public medical schools and faculty but does not provide similar dedicated funding for GME programs. Hospitals provide the primary site for GME clinical training – but receive limited funding through a variety of different programs. The Legislature took a big step supported by THOT to help fund some residencies by creating a series of grant programs to support new GME positions and programs (residencies) and increasing grant funding over time.

Nurse Training

Texas nursing students receive classroom training through community colleges and universities, but also depend on clinical training, largely in hospitals, to graduate and learn how to provide direct patient care. Even though nursing school faculty identify a lack of clinical training resources as the primary obstacle to accepting more nursing students, Texas fails directly to support the clinical site training required for nurse education, graduation, and preparation for a successful nursing career. THOT was successful during the 88^th Regular Legislative Session in getting legislation passed to support clinical sites however, funding was not provided. We will continue to work to educate on the importance of clinical site support for Texas’ workforce.

THOT Recommendations for Building the Nurse Workforce

Clinical and Collaborative Investments in Texas’ Nursing Workforce