OGME Corner

Susan Rall, M.Ed

Staff Changes in the OGME Department

ACOS is pleased to announce recent staff changes in the Osteopathic Graduate Medical Education (OGME) Department.

Director of Resident and Program Services

Susan Rall is the Director of Resident and Program Services. She will oversee the OGME Department and lead it through the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) single accreditation pathway transition. Susan previously served as the Assistant Director of Post-Doctoral Training and Evaluation and has been with the College since 2006. She can be reached at 703-684-0416 ext. 110 or [email protected].

Specialist for Resident and Program Services

Jessika Brown is the Specialist for Resident and Program Services. She will assist residents and programs with residency training information, Annual Resident Reports, the In-Service Examination, and Op Logs. Jessika began her tenure with ACOS in 2013 as Office Administrator. She may be contacted at 703-684-0416 ext. 103 or [email protected].

General Surgery In-Service Examination

The General Surgery In-Service Exam will be administered Saturday, January 9, 2015 to all residents in ACOS/AOA accredited general surgery training programs. Registration forms and fees were due November 11, 2015.

The American Board of Surgery has invited general surgery osteopathic training programs to participate in the American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination (ABSITE). Programs choosing to participate do so on a voluntary basis. ACOS/AOA General Surgery Programs MUST take the ACOS General Surgery In-Service Exam.

For additional information, please contact Jessika Brown at (703) 684-0416 ext. 103 or [email protected].

Standards Review-Scholarly Activity

As a part of the Annual Resident Report, residents are required to complete a scholarly activity. The program director must provide approval before the resident begins the project. The scholarly activity must be chosen from the following areas: Clinical Research, Community-Based Effort, Medical Education Quality Initiative, or Practice Improvement Outcome. Residents will be expected to attend sessions with their program director to review and evaluate their projects and include a discussion of study design techniques and analysis. It is recommended that reviews be done on a quarterly basis at minimum. It is imperative that written documentation of all aspects of the resident’s scholarly projects be maintained in the resident’s file. Program directors must be kept informed of the status of the resident’s project in order for a narrative description and evaluation (of the scholarly activity) to be included in the Program Director’s Annual Resident Evaluation Report for Surgery. Residents are required to write a narrative description of the scholarly activity on the Annual Report, Resident’s Evaluation of the Program Form.

1.  Clinical Research

Examples include, but are not limited to, an original scientific paper, a poster session at the Annual Clinical Assembly (ACA), literature review, a case study, or a new surgical procedure report.

Scientific Research Paper

The length of the paper should be at least 1500 words, double-spaced, and properly formatted with references required for all material derived from the work of others. An original scientific paper can be done over several years or throughout the entire residency, as long as goals are met annually and the paper is completed before resident completes the training (see current guidelines.) All other papers can only be submitted to fulfill the requirement for one year.

Poster Sessions

Poster Sessions are an in-depth exchange of information on a one-to-one basis, providing a medium for unusual or multiple clinical case presentations prepared with photographs, laboratory and/or radiological information. Documentation of this activity requires a photograph of the poster session and written statement that the poster was exhibited at the ACA by the resident who prepared the poster. A resident’s folder for this activity should also include a written description of at least 250 words of the objective, methods, and summary of outcomes of the clinical case presented.

2. Community-Based Effort

Quality Improvement Programs

This may come in the form of a community-based quality improvement program. Residents may select a specific health improvement or disease prevention issue or need within a community. The resident must identify a population of interest within a community, summarize the problem and the population, review the current literature, perform a needs assessment, and design, implement, and evaluate an intervention to address the issue or need.

Community Education

An example of Community Education would be, but not be limited to, a well-planned lecture to a locally recognized community group or a presentation at a national level (e.g. ACA).  

Community Service

An example of Community Service might be, but not be limited to, implementing a program and subsequently delivering medical care to an under-served or impoverished area or population. Medical mission trips would fall into this category.

Written documentation of the resident’s community based efforts will be available and kept in the resident’s file.

3. Medical Education Quality Initiative

Improvements in medical education have led to more effective training processes and programs for medical students, interns and residents. Residents who wish to pursue medical education research projects must identify a process or program need, review the current literature, perform a needs assessment, and design, implement, and evaluate the proposed improvement project. An example of a Medical Education Quality Initiative would include, but not be limited to, preparing three lectures to be given in three different mediums to the house staff. Subsequently evaluating the resident’s effectiveness as a lecturer and testing the knowledge retained by the attendees.

4. Practice Improvement Outcome

Practice Improvement Outcomes may include, but are not limited to, designing and completing a project for presentation at surgical grand rounds focusing on the root-cause analysis of a systems error occurring in the management of the patient.

Another example might be for the resident to review a published clinical practice guideline using an evidence-based approach and audit office charts to compare treatment, screening or diagnostic testing of patients with the recommendations of the guideline.

Questions?

If you have any questions, please contact the OGME Department at [email protected].