OGME Corner

Susan L. Rall, M.Ed.

2016 - 2017 Resident Section Governing Council

The Resident Section Business Meeting was held on Thursday, September 22 Phoenix, AZ in conjunction with the 2016 Annual Clinical Assembly. Sean Henderson, D.O., recent program complete (US) from Albert Einstein Medical Center, chaired the meeting. More than 25 residents and fellows were in attendance. Representatives of the Residency Evaluation and Standards Committee (RESC) and American Osteopathic Board of Surgery (AOBS) addressed the residents and provided information of the status of the unified accrediting system and expectations regarding changes in the certification process. Representatives reiterated that, “No resident will be left behind” during the transition to the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) single accreditation system. Voting for the 2016 – 2017 Resident Section Governing Council was conducted. Alice Higdon, D.O., OGME-4 (GS) from St. John’s Episcopal Hospital was elected Chair-Elect; Michael Nordsiek, D.O., OGME-4 (URO) from Albert Einstein Medical Center was elected Secretary/Treasurer; and Carmen Tong, D.O., OGME-3 (US) from Albert Einstein Medical Center was elected Member-at-Large. David Cahn, D.O., OGME-5 (URO) from Albert Einstein Medical Center was elected last year in Chicago as Chair-Elect. He will now begin his term as chair of the Residents Section and serve as the resident representative to the ACOS Board of Governors. Samantha Brodkin, D.O., OGME-2 (GS) from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine holds the other Member-at-Large position. She is also currently the resident representative to the RESC.  

General Surgery In-Service Exam

Registration forms and fees for the General Surgery In-Service Exam are due at the ACOS by October 15, 2016. The General Surgery In-Service Exam will be administered on Saturday, January 14, 2017 to all residents in ACOS/AOA accredited general surgery training programs (including those in ACGME Pre-Accreditation Status).
For additional information contact Jessika Brown at (703) 684-0416 ext. 103 or [email protected].

Request for Advanced Standing

A resident may, with the approval of the program director, petition the specialty college any time during the first residency year only for advanced standing credit in his/her current residency program for previous training taken in the same specialty or a different specialty in an approved osteopathic or ACGME training program. Most advanced standing request are for approval of an OGME 1T (traditional) year as equivalent to an OGME 1R (surgical) year. 


To request approval for advanced standing (OGME 1T as equivalent to an OGME 1R year) the following are be submitted to the ACOS for review of approval by the RESC:

  1. Letter from the resident requesting advanced standing. The letter must state the reason for the request, dates and name of OGME 1T program.
  2. Letter from the program director approving the resident’s request for advanced standing. The letter must state the reason for the request, training dates and program name of internship training, training dates and program name of current training, and affirmation that the resident’s current performance is on par with his/her level of training.
  3. Letter form the internship program director or DME indicating the internship year was successfully completed. The must also include training dates, and a list of completed monthly rotations.

Criteria for approval:

  1. Letters from the resident, program director and internship program director/DME are complete and received by the ACOS
  2. The following rotations have been successfully completed during the OGME 1 training year: 
  1. Rotations for ½ day per week, for 46 weeks, in an out-patient clinic or office.
  2. Two months of general internal medicine
  3. One month of ICU
  4. One month of emergency medicine
  5. Four months of general surgery
  6. Four months of selectives to include any of the following areas:
  • Urology
  • Orthopedics
  • Anesthesia
  • ENT
  • General Surgery
  • Vascular Surgery
  • Neurosurgery
  • Cardiovascular Thoracic Surgery
  • Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
  • Radiology
  • One month of female reproductive medicine
  • One month of pediatrics, if available, or other primary care specialty, at the discretion of the training institutions. 

If a resident has not completed the required rotations the program director must submit a plan of action to the ACOS stating how the resident will make up the rotations. (Usually, this involves extending the length of surgical training). Approval of advanced standing will be delayed until the rotations are completed and the program director verifies to the ACOS successful completion of the rotation(s).

Note: Advanced Standing is only granted for a training year. Therefore, if a year (12 months) has not been completed advanced standing will not be granted.