The Rheumatologist
COVID-19 News
  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed
  • Home
  • Conditions
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • SLE (Lupus)
    • Crystal Arthritis
      • Gout Resource Center
    • Spondyloarthritis
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Soft Tissue Pain
    • Scleroderma
    • Vasculitis
    • Systemic Inflammatory Syndromes
    • Guidelines
  • Resource Centers
    • Axial Spondyloarthritis Resource Center
    • Gout Resource Center
    • Psoriatic Arthritis Resource Center
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
    • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
  • Drug Updates
    • Biologics & Biosimilars
    • DMARDs & Immunosuppressives
    • Topical Drugs
    • Analgesics
    • Safety
    • Pharma Co. News
  • Professional Topics
    • Ethics
    • Legal
    • Legislation & Advocacy
    • Career Development
      • Certification
      • Education & Training
    • Awards
    • Profiles
    • President’s Perspective
    • Rheuminations
    • Interprofessional Perspective
  • Practice Management
    • Billing/Coding
    • Quality Assurance/Improvement
    • Workforce
    • Facility
    • Patient Perspective
    • Electronic Health Records
    • Apps
    • Information Technology
    • From the College
    • Multimedia
      • Audio
      • Video
  • Resources
    • Issue Archives
    • ACR Convergence
      • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
      • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
      • Gout Resource Center
      • Abstracts
      • Meeting Reports
      • ACR Convergence Home
    • American College of Rheumatology
    • ACR ExamRheum
    • Research Reviews
    • ACR Journals
      • Arthritis & Rheumatology
      • Arthritis Care & Research
      • ACR Open Rheumatology
    • Rheumatology Image Library
    • Treatment Guidelines
    • Rheumatology Research Foundation
    • Events
  • About Us
    • Mission/Vision
    • Meet the Authors
    • Meet the Editors
    • Contribute to The Rheumatologist
    • Subscription
    • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Search
You are here: Home / Articles / Rheumatology’s Chronic Crisis

Rheumatology’s Chronic Crisis

August 1, 2007 • By David S. Pisetsky, MD, PhD

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version / Save PDF

At the recent EULAR congress in Barcelona, I sat down with a group of American rheumatologists for a late afternoon drink. We gathered in the lounge on the executive floor of the headquarters’ hotel. The hotel was a sleek high rise, Euro-modern in design, and the lounge adjoined a balcony overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The day was warm and the water sparkled as a strong wind lifted white caps and propelled sail boards over the water like large fins.

You Might Also Like
  • Avert Rheum’s Coming Crisis
  • Funding Crisis Threatens Research and Training in Rheumatology
  • An Identity Crisis for RA
Explore This Issue
August 2007
Also By This Author
  • No Trains, No Planes, No Automobiles: Travel Woes and a Journey through Europe

The lounge was the perfect place for laughter and idle banter. Given the locale, the buoyant spirit of a beautiful city, and the sun that beamed down gloriously, our conversation should have bubbled and brimmed with optimism and excitement. Instead, the group seemed down. To a person, the Americans sitting in the lounge were reflective and sober as they expressed concern, even anxiety, about the landscape of rheumatology and the prospects for the future.

ad goes here:advert-1
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Despite the necessity to expand the field of rheumatology, many training programs can’t fund all of their approved positions and there is difficulty in recruiting new chiefs and leaders of once distinguished programs.

When I sauntered from my room to the lounge, my intention was to relax after a busy day at the congress. OK, OK. I didn’t go to as many sessions as I could have, but I stayed in the convention center the whole day and talked science and did the requisite networking that is the job (and the fun) of being the Editor of The Rheumatologist (TR). I promise you. I recruited several great articles at the meeting. The articles will be coming soon (yes, my dear friends, the deadlines I gave you are real), and they will embody important research and innovations for practice. My day was busy even if low on CME credits.

ad goes here:advert-2
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Before sitting with my friends, I went to the bar and poured a glass of water called Vichy Catalan. Somehow, I could not believe that a product called Vichy water still existed, but it fizzed nicely and was very refreshing. At the table, my American colleagues, instead of engaging in the usual gossip of academic comings and goings, were deep into a discussion of what many think of the crisis in rheumatology.

Rheumatology’s Paradox

Crisis is not my favorite word for a situation that seems chronic. The term, however, gives weight and seriousness to any discussion and certainly focuses attention. This crisis, which has been the subject of many important ACR initiatives and has been discussed in TR, reflects the collision of two ominous trends: the gap in the workforce as the supply of rheumatologists fails to meet the demand, and the increasingly troubled state of academic rheumatology. According to predictions, in the coming years more people will leave the field than will enter it and training programs can’t keep pace.

Pages: 1 2 3 | Single Page

Filed Under: Education & Training Tagged With: Patients, Research Funding, TrainingIssue: August 2007

You Might Also Like:
  • Avert Rheum’s Coming Crisis
  • Funding Crisis Threatens Research and Training in Rheumatology
  • An Identity Crisis for RA
  • Couples Coping with Chronic Pain

Rheumatology Research Foundation

The Foundation is the largest private funding source for rheumatology research and training in the U.S.

Learn more »

Simple Tasks

Learn more about the ACR’s public awareness campaign and how you can get involved. Help increase visibility of rheumatic diseases and decrease the number of people left untreated.

Visit the Simple Tasks site »

American College of Rheumatology

Visit the official website for the American College of Rheumatology.

Visit the ACR »

The Rheumatologist newsmagazine reports on issues and trends in the management and treatment of rheumatic diseases. The Rheumatologist reaches 11,500 rheumatologists, internists, orthopedic surgeons, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who practice, research, or teach in the field of rheumatology.

About Us / Contact Us / Advertise / Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed

Copyright © 2006–2022 American College of Rheumatology. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1931-3268 (print)
ISSN 1931-3209 (online)

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.