NIH Office Established to Improve Emergency Care
NIH Office Established to Improve Emergency Care
The third and final item below should be a warning to all emergency physicians evaluating job offers. Be alert for any clause that includes the words “hold harmless” or that waives your right to due process. Read contracts carefully and have them reviewed by an attorney with experience in medical employment, and always ask about the process for dismissal. Can you be fired on the whim of one person, or does it take the agreement of a majority or supermajority of your colleagues? — The Editor
To help improve the health outcomes of patients who require emergency care, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has created the new Office of Emergency Care Research (OECR). The formation of OECR is a result of more than five years of discussions between NIH and the emergency medical community, as well as a response to reports about the nation’s emergency medical system issued in 2006 by the Institute of Medicine. Serving as the focal point across NIH for basic, clinical, and translational emergency care research and training, OECR will foster and coordinate all such research and training in the emergency setting.
In announcing the new office, NIH Director Francis Collins said, “NIH has supported research to advance emergency care for years; however, now we have a single office to coordinate and foster our activities in this arena. The NIH Office of Emergency Care Research will focus on speeding diagnosis and improving care for the full spectrum of conditions that require emergency treatment.”
Although OECR will not provide funding for grants, it will encourage innovation and improvement in emergency care and in the training of future researchers in the field by:
While a search is being conducted for a permanent director of OECR, Walter Koroshetz, deputy director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, is serving as acting director. A steering committee chaired by the director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, where OECR is housed, is overseeing the office.
For more information about this new NIH Office, visit: http://www.nigms.nih.gov/About/Overview/OECR.
Introduction
The third and final item below should be a warning to all emergency physicians evaluating job offers. Be alert for any clause that includes the words “hold harmless” or that waives your right to due process. Read contracts carefully and have them reviewed by an attorney with experience in medical employment, and always ask about the process for dismissal. Can you be fired on the whim of one person, or does it take the agreement of a majority or supermajority of your colleagues? — The Editor
To help improve the health outcomes of patients who require emergency care, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has created the new Office of Emergency Care Research (OECR). The formation of OECR is a result of more than five years of discussions between NIH and the emergency medical community, as well as a response to reports about the nation’s emergency medical system issued in 2006 by the Institute of Medicine. Serving as the focal point across NIH for basic, clinical, and translational emergency care research and training, OECR will foster and coordinate all such research and training in the emergency setting.
In announcing the new office, NIH Director Francis Collins said, “NIH has supported research to advance emergency care for years; however, now we have a single office to coordinate and foster our activities in this arena. The NIH Office of Emergency Care Research will focus on speeding diagnosis and improving care for the full spectrum of conditions that require emergency treatment.”
Although OECR will not provide funding for grants, it will encourage innovation and improvement in emergency care and in the training of future researchers in the field by:
Coordinating funding opportunities that involve multiple NIH institutes and centers
Working closely with the NIH Emergency Care Research Working Group, which includes representatives from NIH institutes and centers
Organizing scientific meetings to identify new research and training opportunities in the emergency setting
Catalyzing the development of new funding opportunities
Informing investigators about funding opportunities in their areas of interest
Fostering career development for trainees in emergency care research
Representing NIH in government-wide efforts to improve the nation’s emergency care system
While a search is being conducted for a permanent director of OECR, Walter Koroshetz, deputy director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, is serving as acting director. A steering committee chaired by the director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, where OECR is housed, is overseeing the office.
For more information about this new NIH Office, visit: http://www.nigms.nih.gov/About/Overview/OECR.
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