October 31, 2003 TO: FROM: All Program Directors Sharon L. Dooley, M.D., M.P.H. Associate Dean for GME and Chair, GMEC GME UPDATE All Clinical Chairs
1.
RE: cc:
Complying with ACGME and NRMP policies during interview season
Please remember that it is essential to direct any resident or fellow candidates to our GME portal so that they may review McGaw policies, procedures, benefits, etc. There is a new requirement this year from NRMP, that candidates must see a sample contract (we call them “letters of agreement”). NRMP also recommends you have candidates sign an attestation that they have received this material. Your GMEC feels this would be an onerous task and that referring candidates to electronic information suffices. Accordingly, please ensure that candidates are provided the address of the portal before or during the interview visit: http://gme.northwestern.edu
2.
Program Letter of Agreement: Common Requirements
If you have not done so already, do review the Common Requirements on the ACGME web. These took effect July 1 and they supercede any similar requirements listed in your specialty requirements. Eventually, the ACGME intends to incorporate the Common Requirements into each specialty’s document (and has done so for a handful of them already). Please especially note the requirement for a program letter of agreement when your residents or fellows rotate outside of our main McGaw institutions. This need not be a long, involved document. It should be signed by you and the program director or individual responsible for education at the other institution, as well as myself as Associate Dean for GME. If this is a relatively short rotation or non-repeating experience or elective, there is no requirement for an affiliation agreement between our institution and theirs. In this case, the program letter of agreement should include a statement as to who will be paying the stipend of the resident or fellow while on the rotation, and who will be covering the liability insurance. If this information is added, the document should also be signed by the relevant Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at your hospital (Todd Kuiken – RIC, Chuck Watts – NMH, Ed Ogata – CMH, Dave Winchester – ENH) or his/her representative. If you have a site visit this year, you will be expected to show the site visitor a letter of agreement for outside rotations.
3.
Release Form for Evaluations Requested from Other Medical Schools
Many of you likely receive requests for evaluations of your residents from their medical schools, typically when they are near the end of their PGY-1 years. NU counsel does recommend that you have the resident sign a release, and the following verbiage suffices:
AUTHORIZATION FOR RELEASE OF INFORMATION TO MEDICAL SCHOOL REGARDING RESIDENCY PROGRAM TRAINING I hereby authorize the Program Director of my residency program in [insert name of residency program] at the McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University to release to my medical school, [insert name of medical school], information necessary to complete the attached evaluation form.
________________________ [name of resident]
_______________________ Date
4.
Involving Housestaff in Q.M. Activities
Just a reminder there is an ACGME Institutional Requirements that all programs have quality-assurance programs, that there is a review of complications and deaths, and that residents/fellows should participate in appropriate components of the performance improvement program. If you do not have a housestaff member of your department’s Q.M. Committee we strongly recommend that you consider this. 5. HAP: Housestaff Assistance Program
Remember that all McGaw housestaff have access to the HAP program at any time and may obtain free and confidential assessment and counseling. We recently heard from the head of HAP that there has been very little activity in the program lately from our housestaff. Of course we would like to think that is because everyone is happy, coping well, and has a perfect marriage or other personal relationship(s) outside of the hospital, but we are not so naive. Please keep information regarding the availability of HAP on your residents’ and fellows’ radar screens by reminding them at semiannual evaluations or housestaff meetings. The 800 number is in the Reference Manual (at the gme portal: http://gme.northwestern.edu, and on the program directors’ web: http://gme.northwestern.edu/programdirectors.) Whether they are having adjustment issues or marital problems, the staff at HAP is there to help.