Why the VA matters: Resident education, research and patient care.

The Veterans' Health Administration (VHA) has had a long and storied relationship with academic medicine and particularly academic surgery throughout its history. Since the initial inception of the Veterans' Health Administration in 1946 there have been relationships between medical schools and the VHA to provide care to our veterans as well as provide a fertile training environment for the residents that will enhance their overall training experience and prepare them to the provide health care for the nation as a whole. At this point in our history that relationship is in jeopardy. The problems facing the Veterans' Health Administration are well known and seemingly are proving to be an insurmountable obstacle for continuation of this relationship. It is my intention in this lecture honoring Dr. Organ, who was committed to surgical education as well as the surgical care of our veterans to demonstrate why the Veterans' Health Administration is more important than ever to the well-being of our residents and graduate medical education as a whole.