OGME Corner

Susan Rall

Resident Section Governing Council

The Resident Section Business Meeting was held on Sunday, October 4 in Chicago in conjunction with the 2015 Annual Clinical Assembly. Matt Schultzel, D.O., recent program complete (GS) from Palisades, chaired the meeting. More than 40 residents and fellows were in attendance. Representatives from the Resident Evaluation and Standards Committee (RESC) and American Osteopathic Board of Surgery (AOBS) addressed the residents and provided information on the status of the unified accrediting system and expectations regarding changes in the certification process.

Voting for the 2015 – 2016 Resident Section Governing Council was conducted. David Cahn, D.O., OGME-4 (URO) from Albert Einstein was elected Chair-Elect; Peter Tek, D.O., OGME-4 (URO) from Franciscan St. James was elected Secretary/Treasurer; and Alice Higdon, D.O., OGME-3 (GS) from St. John’s Episcopal was elected Member-at-Large. Sean Henderson, D.O., OGME-5 (URO) from Albert Einstein was elected last year in Chicago to Chair-Elect, he will assume the role of chair 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 which serves as a resident representative to the RESC.

General Surgery In-Service Exam

Registration forms and fees for the General Surgery In-Service Examination are due at the ACOS by November 10, 2015. The examination will be administered on Saturday, January 9, 2016 to all residents in ACOS/AOA accredited general surgery training programs.

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

For additional information contact Susan Rall at (703) 684-0416 ext. 110 or by email at [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 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 requests 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 must 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 receive 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:
       a.   Urology
       b.   Orthopedics
       c.   Anesthesia
       d.   ENT
       e.   General Surgery
       f.   Vascular Surgery
       g.   Neurosurgery
       h.   Cardiovascular Thoracic Surgery
       i.   Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
       j.   Radiology
       k.   One month of female reproductive medicine
       l.   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.