As part of his State of the Union address delivered on February 12, 2013, President Obama reported to Congress that the “state of our union is stronger.” Stronger, of course, is a relative term. He noted the nation's progress with respect to its military exposure and on the economic front. Even so, President Obama acknowledged that there is a lot of work to be done. He stressed that our attention must focus on making decisions regarding the country's budget and singled out medical research as one of the national priorities that would be devastated should the sudden, harsh, and arbitrary budget cuts take place in the form of “sequestration.” Understandably, academic geriatricians are particularly anxious to see the uncertainty surrounding the federal budget resolved in a manner that avoids crippling the National Institutes of Health (NIH), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. A recent study reported on the development of academic geriatric medicine in the United States.1 The study reported on the period from 2005 to 2010 and had an interesting finding.1 Although medical students are now more exposed to a geriatrics curriculum than in the past, this trend has not translated into more academic geriatricians pursuing research careers.1 One reason that may explain this unfortunate trend is the fierce competition for NIH dollars and the low success rates for grant mechanisms that have followed. The upcoming 2013 American Geriatrics Society Annual Scientific Meeting, to be held in Grapevine, Texas, this May, is a prime example of how many of our colleagues the potential drastic cuts to the NIH budget will affect. These large forums represent an efficient manner by which investigators come together and present the latest information on clinical care, research on aging, and innovative models of care delivery. Academic geriatricians often fund their research projects directly or indirectly from the NIH. These research dollars are becoming harder to obtain, and as a result, many significant and innovative applications fall by the wayside. It is worri-some to think what would become of the advancement of science should significant cuts to the NIH budget be implemented. It is equally worrisome to think what would become of the pure academic geriatrician should funding dollars dry up. It is important for the geriatrics community to become familiar with and engaged in the budget process that will take place in the next few months. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a nonpartisan entity that provides analysis to the U.S. Congress. In its February 2013 report, the CBO lists three budget matters that our leaders in Washington, District of Columbia, will need to address.2 The first is the automatic spending cuts as part of the sequestration scheduled to be implemented in the beginning of March; if this happens, funding for many government activities will be reduced by 5% or more. The second is the expiration of a continuing resolution in late March; if no additional appropriations are provided for, nonessential functions of the government will be at risk. The third is the statutory limit on the federal debt that will go into effect in mid-May; to avoid default on government obligations, the debt limit will need to be addressed.2 It is an interesting time for our country. Normally, it may seem that the work in Washington has little influence on your personal life. The purpose of this letter is to communicate the contrary. It is important for individuals in the geriatrics community to be actively engaged with their lawmakers and voice their concerns regarding the above-mentioned budget challenges. Federal support for the NIH is at issue, and so might be the future of the academic geriatrician. Speak now. Conflict of Interest: The editor in chief has reviewed the conflict of interest checklist provided by the authors and has determined that the authors have no financial or any other kind of personal conflicts with this paper. Author Contributions: Both authors contributed significantly to the research and writing of this paper. Sponsor's Role: None.
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Apr 27, 2023
Mark J Burish + 1
Open Access