Hanukkah and Christmas holiday are upon us this month. The much anticipated COVID-19 vaccine is here too. I hope the DIO Blog will put you in the holiday spirit to read the December 2020 GMEC Update.
People
Congratulations to the following members of our community:
- Dr. Brian Cervoini Rosario (PGY-2) was selected as a resident member of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Review Committee (RC) at the ACGME.
- Drs. Ben Massenburg (PGY-4) and Kajal Mehta (PGY-3) were selected by the Resident and Associate Society of the American College of Surgeons for two Global Surgery Work Group leadership positions. Dr. Massenburg will hold the Subspecialty Engagement Lead position and Dr. Mehta start as secretary and will advance to Vice Chair in 2022 and then to Chair in 2023.
- Gregory Walker (PGY-5) resident in the Department of Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine has published a paper with his department chair, Dr. Howard Chansky and another faculty member Dr. Mario Taylor for the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery entitled What’s Important: Take a Knee: It is our collective responsibility to dismantle systemic racism.
- Dr. Grant Hughes, associate professor of Rheumatology has received a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Award from the Arthritis Foundation for $10,000 to support the Rheumatology Fellowship training program.
- Dr. Bessie Young, professor of IM, VA division chief of Nephrology, won the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Award.
- The Triple I Outstanding Research Mentor Award was presented to Dr. Fuki Hisama, professor of IM, division of Medical Genetics for her exemplary mentorship of our UW medical students in the conduct of scholarly work.
- The Department of Surgery faculty members, Drs. Lisa Mcintyre and Nicole Zern published an article in JAMA entitled Emergency Restructuring of a General Surgery Program During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic: The University of Washington Experience.
- Drs. Nick Meo, Jon Ilgen, Niten Singh and Byron Joyner were involved in the recent article in the Journal of Graduate Medical Education about the University of Washington’s experience in the COVID-19 surge in the spring.
Programs
- Special Reviews continue to make improvements to our learning environment for residents and fellows. Dr. Best and Hadar Duman are working to assist each of the programs to reflect on areas where they might consider trying new approaches.
Progress
- The GMEC-sponsored CLER Subcommittee had its inaugural meeting the month to kick off the many projects to make progress in the areas of Patient Safety, Quality, and especially in Healthcare Equity and Teaming. This committee is chaired by Dr. Lindee Strizich, GME Director of Quality and Patient Safety, UWMC-Montlake.
- The GMEC-sponsored Clinical Learning Environment Review Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Task Force has completed its final meeting and the final draft of its charter which will be presented ot the GMEC for a vote next month.
Policies
There were three new GME policies presented and approved by GMEC:
- GME Appointment Policy
- GME Credentialing Policy
- GME Scheduling and Boarders Policy
Each of these new policies will clarify processes to improve conditions for residents and fellows in our community. Check them out.
Partnerships
- GME held a winter Town Hall to discuss COVID-19 updates for the residents and fellows. Drs. Tim Dellit, Chris Kim and Nick Meo were present to answer questions, as were Cindy Hamra, Dipti Chrastka and Byron Joyner. We will continue to hold similar Town Halls every month to be sure that our trainees understand current COVID-19 information and obtain answers to their questions.
Projects
- Please see the COVID-19 Updates: GME Community for information for updates on the increasing COVID-19 pandemic in our community. We are working closely with UW Medicine leadership to include our housestaff thoughtfully and strategically in our efforts to protect our community.
Byron D. Joyner, MD, MPA
Vice Dean and Designated Institutional Official (DIO)
Graduate Medical Education, UW Medicine