The hustle of this holiday season can be a welcome change from daily routines. The season can also bring extra pressure – extra commitments, in-person gatherings and the unpredictability of COVID-19 and the newly identified Omicron variant. Yet there is also much to celebrate, including Washington State’s high vaccination rate, which is our community’s best path toward health.
As we near the end of 2021, we wish to share some of the year’s good things from the GME perspective. Throughout 2021, the GME Office has consistently held to our strategic plan to advocate for our residents and fellows, and provide expertise, quality and value.
Wellness has been a top priority this year, with the pandemic’s ebb and flow leaving many feeling isolated and anxious. In response to trainee distress, the GME Office expanded Wellness counseling access for residents and fellows by hiring a third wellness counselor, Patty Long-Brohm, LICSW. Patty’s addition has already significantly improved the availability of appointments. We are also thrilled to announce that we will be hiring a fourth Wellness Counselor soon! Stay tuned for details.
The GME Office has taken advantage of Washington State’s successful vaccination campaign and resumed hosting select in-person events. This fall we enjoyed pumpkin patch and movie events in Seattle and look forward to a botanical garden visit in Boise.
Since June, we’ve also enjoyed hosting GME Outreach Events at our hospitals, inviting residents and fellows to pick up free lunch and GME swag. Our team has enjoyed saying hello to so many of you! This fall GME Leadership hosted what we hope is the first of many Chief Resident/Fellow Listening Sessions – another opportunity to hear directly from trainees about how we can better support housestaff.
We’ve also worked closely with our partner hospitals to review sleep/call rooms and food access. This year we launched the Information by Training Site web page which lists Sleep/Rest Facilities, Food, and Quiet Spaces. We also have documented and posted Lactation Rooms by Hospital to better support our new parents.
In our ongoing efforts to improve the learning environment, we have significantly revised the GME Concern Reporting Form, which allows concerns to be submitted anonymously or not. We review all concerns and attempt to act on each one, working with various leaders in our hospitals and community to make positive change. GME also has an active presence in the UW Medicine Bias Reporting Tool response team.
The GME Office is also heavily invested in efforts to enhance equity, diversity and inclusion. We were part of the Network of Underrepresented Residents and Fellows’ (NURF) Diversity Recruitment events, which reached over 500 individuals applying to our programs. We also launched a GMEC EDI Subcommittee chaired by Dr. Dan Cabrera, which is working to develop curriculum and tools regarding implicit bias and other relevant topics for our community.
We welcome every opportunity to support our residents and fellows and to improve the clinical learning environment. If you have questions, concerns or suggestions, we always want to hear from you.
Best for the holiday season and Happy New Year!
Byron Joyner, MD, MPA
Vice Dean for GME and DIO
Jennifer Best, MD
Associate Dean, Accreditation and Education
Cindy Hamra, JD
Assistant Dean, Operations and Administration