Welcome to the new Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC) Update!
I am excited to share information with you on a monthly basis about our Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC) meetings which take place the second Thursday of every month.
The primary duty of UW GMEC is to oversee the learning environment for more than 1500 residents and fellows in our training programs. In order to provide the best oversight, all GMEC meetings involve representatives from all around our GME community, including housestaff, program directors, program administrators, compliance personnel, dental school administrators, VA leaders, dean’s office administrators and many others. Since we cannot fit everyone around the virtual GMEC table, I hope that these DIO Updates will allow you to follow news about our housestaff and those involved in training residents and fellows.
Starting this month, I will provide regular updates on GMEC’s activities, actions and initiatives. As the Chair of GMEC, I feel that it is my duty to inform you, the GME community of how GMEC cares for and protects the housestaff. As the Chair of the GMEC, I take this job seriously.
Every month, I will provide updates in the 6 Ps we have selected: People, Policies, Progress, Programs, Partnerships and Projects. I hope that these categories will cover the GMEC Update.
People
This section will cover those who have new, GME leadership positions or are transitioning in some way into or away from GME leadership.
- New program director: Dr. Tracy Tylee – Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition
- New program director: Dr. Michelle Weathered – Neurology
- New committee chair: Dr. Lia Halasz is assuming a new role as Chair of the GMEC Approved Fellowship (GAF) Committee. We thank Dr. Lisa Taitsman for her nearly 3 years of service!
Policies
One of the roles of the GMEC is to introduce new or revise existing policies that must be voted on by GMEC members.
- The UW Medicine Travel Policy has been abandoned and travel recommendations will now align with general University of Washington Travel Policy.
- GMEC approved revisions to the Telehealth Training Policy, Licensure Examination Policy and State Licensing Policy.
Progress
In this section, updates will be provided regarding progress in Institutional and Programmatic Accreditation, the Learning Gateway educational modules and quality and patient safety news.
Hadar Duman (Director of Accreditation) presented the results of our annual Accreditation Dashboard. This year, our Sponsoring Institution, the UW SOM has full accreditation, as do all of our programs. There are only 14 ACGME-accredited programs that have been identified for our Special Review process, which is intended to assist programs with meeting accreditation standards.
Partnerships and Projects
This section will provide high-level information about GME, UW Medicine, and UW SOM.
- The GMEC heard about the formation of a GMEC Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Task Force that will create the charge for the work of a long-standing GMEC-sponsored EDI Subcommittee. The Task Force will meet in early October.
- The work of the Scheduling Task Force is ongoing with an anticipated completion date of November 2020. Recommendations will be brought to GMEC early in 2020.
Keep up with GME news by following the GME Updates. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.
Byron D. Joyner, MD, MPA
Vice Dean and Designated Institutional Official (DIO)
Graduate Medical Education, UW Medicine