Dear GME Community,
Cindy Hamra Associate Dean, GME
Latinx and Hispanic Heritage Month started on September 15 – an opportunity to celebrate the Latinx and Hispanic members of our community. This article in the Huddle has more information and resources.
We have some additional reasons to celebrate – first, UW Medical Center was named the top hospital in Washington state and the Seattle metropolitan area for the 11th consecutive year by U.S. News & World Report. Additionally, Forbes ranked UW Medicine a top healthcare employer in Washington and third best in the state.
The GME News and Notes for September is very full, including information about our revised Policies and Procedures page, lots of interesting events, information on where to go with questions about your pay or benefits. Please also remember that any member of our community can raise concerns confidentially (and anonymously) via GME’s Report a Concern tool.
Many thanks to those who reached out with information to share. Please continue to do so by sending to me at hamrac@uw.edu.
Thank you,
Cindy
Policies and Processes
- The Policies and Procedures page on the GME website has a new look! The page has been redesigned as a searchable table and includes policy summaries, flags for program-required policies, and the option to filter on applicable programs (ACGME, CODA, non-ACGME). These changes were made in response to feedback we received from programs and trainees.
- Revisions to the GMEC-Approved (Non-ACGME Accredited) Fellowship Programs Committee Charge: include changes that reflect the evolving role of the subcommittee, support of the Sponsoring Institution’s oversight of the new ACGME Non-Standard Training (NST) Program Recognition Requirements, inclusion of the UW Educational Standards for Non-ACGME Fellowship Programs, and the subcommittee’s role in recommending approval of new non-ACGME fellowship programs to the GMEC.
- UW Medicine is requiring that all employees, except for those in non-clinical roles in the School of Medicine, receive the latest COVID booster or complete an online declination. UW Medicine employees can schedule their booster through our online portal. Non-clinical employees in the School of Medicine should schedule by calling 844.520.8700.
- Our Clinical Learning Environment Webpage has been transformed and will track metrics for all of our CLER domains as well now houses resources for trainees and faculty looking for resources for QI work, QI data access, and curricular resources for our training programs.
Program Information
- Welcome New Program Administrator:
- Gretchen Lindenstein, Radiation Oncology
- Jaime Williams, Medical Physics
- The GMEC has approved appointment of the following new program directors; all appointments await ACGME confirmation:
- Jeffrey Forris Beecham Chick, Independent & Integrated Interventional Radiology
- Stephen Kennedy, Orthopaedic Surgery
- Manoj Menon, Hematology Oncology
- Jaclyn Omura, Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine
- Alireza Torabi, Hematopathology
- The GMEC has approved the following non-ACGME program director changes:
- Felix Chew, Musculoskeletal Radiology
- Christopher Lee, Breast Imaging
- The ACGME has a weekly e-Communication. If you wish to receive it, email ACGMECommunications@acgme.org
Events of Interest
- GME Lunch & Learns
- GME Meet & Greet: October 2022 on October 17th from 3:00 – 4:00pm on Zoom. Join in meeting some of our GME Office staff, learning about their roles and responsibilities. This is highly recommended for new Program Directors and Program Administrators but welcome to all.
- Family Planning & Fertility for Resident Physicians on October 24th from 6:00-8:00pm on Zoom. Please join us at this educational event intended for all GME trainees and their guests or partners, no matter your current or future family plans. Regardless of your vision for your future we hope the ability to become better educated on a variety of fertility considerations, and to hear from colleagues about their own experiences will be of interest.
- GME Outreach Event for trainees at SCH on October 6th from 11am to 1 pm. We encourage trainees to stop by to say hello, meet our GME team members and take a packed lunch. Please look for an email closer to the event with specific room details.
- ERAS Drop in Session on September 22nd from 1 to 2 pm. We are holding an ERAS drop-in session for program administrators to ask questions and share best practices. This is intended as a forum for discussion and is not a formal training session. Questions? Contract Gabrielle Pett at nathangl@uw.edu.
- The Department of Medicine is partnering with the Institute for Common Power to sponsor a lecture by Dr. Quinn Capers from UT Southwestern, “Unequal Treatment in Cardiovascular Care: Evidence for Racial Bias and the Way Forward.” Dr. Capers will review current evidence and studies from the recent past detailing Black-White disparities in cardiac care, and strategies to reduce or eliminate racial disparities in care. Dr. Barabara Jung will join Dr. Terry Scott from Common Power for a Q&A after the lecture to discuss how we engage in EDI goals and objectives, increase engagement, and move initiatives forward. The event is on Tuesday Oct. 11, 12-1:30pm PST and everyone is invited. Sign up and further information can be found on the Department on Medicine news site.
- Another round of UW community support and skill building sessions aka “Got Burnout” will be running from late August through mid-October. These sessions are focused on the impact that working in healthcare has on us, similar to Schwartz Center Rounds, but think impromptu and theme based. Please see the event flier for more details.
- The Fall Series of Well-Being and Resilience starts on September 15th and runs through December 15th. The series is designed to support a team’s well-being during the transitions and challenges of the coming year. Please see the event flier for more details.
- 17th Annual Latino Health Forum: Call for Posters: The LHF poster session is a great opportunity to foster the dissemination and discussion of best practices, research and innovative projects to address health care access, health equity and community engagement among Latinos. The topic of a poster would address an issue that affects Latino health and behavioral health and would fall under one of four categories: clinical services, advocacy/policy, research or community-based health and behavioral health promotion. If you are doing research, this is a great opportunity to connect with other professionals and community members who share your interests. The “Become a Poster Presenter” document features basic information about the poster session and guidelines for participation. Deadline to submit your poster abstract is Saturday, October 1, 2022 by 11:59PM.
- Thank you to the Network for Underrepresented Residents and Fellows (NURF) for hosting the September 1st Diversity Town Hall. This was the third year for this event and there were over 300 virtual participants! NURF hosted a success event and assembled a diverse panel of representatives from across the GME community and there were impressive presentations. Stay tuned for more information regarding the NURF Second Look (exact date TBD).
- Other GME Events including AY23 can be found on our calendar.
Projects and Resources
- Trainees, questions about your paycheck? Please check the following resources:
- UW Resident/Fellow Compensation Schedule for RFPU-NW Members
- List of Paydays from the Integrated Service Center (ISC)
- Your Paycheck and Payslip from the ISC
- Questions about pay and/or benefits? Contact the ISC
- Questions about appointment level? Please email Hayley Fisher (Director of Housestaff Affairs) and/or Khrystine Buccat (Appointment Manager)
- The UW Medicine Center for Scholarship in Patient Care Quality and Safety is proud to announce the (re)-launch of QI Match, an online web platform to match collaborators to quality improvement and patient safety initiatives across UW Medicine. Get started today.
- The GME Office is currently recruiting for two roles:
- GME Float Administrator – the Float Administrator provides continuity of key operations of UW ACGME residency and fellowship programs during program administrator vacancies, may assist in assessment of program operations including making recommendations for operational/quality improvements, works on special projects in the GME Office, and may also support non-ACGME fellowships. The job posting is on UW Hires (Req# 210821).
- GME HR Manager – this new position on the Operations & Administration team will provide HR support for trainees and programs regarding leave of absence, accommodations, etc. This position is a great opportunity to work with both the GME community and with other departments in the School of Medicine. The posting is on UW Hires (Req. # 212471).
People
- Alwiya Ahmed, (resident, Internal Medicine) is quoted in “More Black People Eligible for Lung Cancer Screening Under New Guidelines [bit.ly]” in Real Health.
- Joseph Bellairs (Otolaryngology Resident) won a poster blitz award at the meeting of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology (ARO) in February 2022 for “Development of an In Vivo Biomarker for Evaluating the Biologic Characteristics of Ototoxic Drugs and Novel Therapeutics that Mitigate Ototoxicity.”
- WebMD annually recognizes individuals who work to improve the mental health of medical professionals, veterans, first responders, and older adults. Justin Bullock, fellow (Nephrology) is recognized for speaking out about suicide and mental health in medicine, using his own personal struggles to help others overcome the stigma. Learn more on WebMD[wb.md].
- Harrison Cash (Otolaryngology Resident) under the mentorship of former Oto assistant professor Jeff Houlton presented on Feb. 25, 2022, at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium: “A Novel Intratumoral Microdosing Approach for Simultaneously Evaluating Multiple Drugs and Combinations in Patients with Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC).”
- The Latinx Health Pathway (LHP) was one of the first Pathways established in 2008 to help medical students provide culturally humble care for Latinx communities. Daniel Cabrera, clinical associate professor (General Internal Medicine), assistant program director, assistant student clerkship director and interim associate chair for DEI, has directed the pathway since 2016. Read the full story from UW Medicine.
- Eve Champaloux (Otolaryngology resident) is lead author in a recent article published in Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology. The study, titled “Otolaryngology residents’ experiences of pregnancy and return to work: A multisite qualitative study,” was designed to “understand the experiences of childbearing otolaryngology residents and support them during this major life event.”
- Sherise Epstein (Otolaryngology Resident) was lead author (with UW Oto professor Kathy Sie, and others) on an article published in the Annals of Otology, Rhinology and Laryngology titled “Sensitivity to Deaf Culture Among Otolaryngology and Audiology Trainees.”
- Some important innovations in the Otolaryngology recruitment efforts over recent years have been reported and analyzed in an article by resident Sherise Epstein and resident Neeraja Konuthula and others. The article, titled “Implementing a ‘Distance Travelled’ Question to Improve Resident Diversity: Process and Feasibility,” was featured in Oto Open, the Official Open Access Journal of the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation, and describes efforts to increase diversity in the physician workforce through a more holistic review of applicants to the residency program using a “distance travelled” metric.
- Neal Futran (Chair, Department of Otolaryngology) delivered a talk on advances in midface reconstruction at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Israeli Society of Otolaryngology-HNS, held in March 2022.
- Whitney Harper, program specialist (IM Residency), is co-author of “AAIM Recommendations to Promote Equity and Inclusion in the Internal Medicine Residency Interview Process” in the American Journal of Medicine.
- Congratulations to the Housestaff Quality and Safety Committee on their recent publication of HOUSE!
- Ian Humphreys (Rhinology Program Director) made a recent guest appearance on the podcast, The Original Guide to Men’s Health. In this episode, Dr. Humphreys spoke to Dr. Richard Perlman about a range of basic ENT health issues, including chronic irritation of the sinuses, disordered smell, ringing ears, hearing loss, swallowing problems, vocal cord issues, and oral cancers.
- Ellora Karmarkar, fellow, is lead author and Sylvia LaCourse, assistant professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is senior author of “Report: A pox presenting without pox [bit.ly]” in Sexually Transmitted Diseases. DOM co-authors are Desta Russom, Alwiya Ahmed, Maria Amoreth Ramiro Gozo, Anna Cogen, Steven Disharoon and W. Conrad Liles.
- Congratulations to Nicole Kim, fellow (Gastroenterology) who received an Advanced/Transplant Hepatology Award and Philip Vutien, assistant professor (Gastroenterology) who received the Clinical, Translation and Outcomes Research Award in Liver Diseases for his project “Development and validation of models that estimate risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and cured hepatitis C virus infection” from the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) Foundation. Their mentor is George Ioannou.
- Jimmy Ma, fellow (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is lead author and Mari Kitahata, professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is senior author of “Current Antiretroviral Treatment Among People with Human Immunodeficiency Virus in the United States: Findings from the Centers for AIDS Research Network of Integrated Clinic Systems Cohort [bit.ly]” in Clinical Infectious Diseases. DOM co-authors are Drs. Robin Nance, Bridget Whitney and Heidi Crane.
- Linzee Mabrey, fellow, is lead author, and Pavan Bhatraju, assistant professor (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) is senior author of “Presence of Antibodies to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 on Admission Is Associated With Decreased Mortality in COVID-19 Critical Illness [bit.ly]” in Critical Care Explorations. DOM co-authors are Leila Zelnick, Eric Morrell, Mark Wurfel and Conrad Liles.
- A poster titled “Exploring Female Otolaryngologists’ Experiences with Gender Bias and Microaggressions” has been accepted for presentation at American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery’s 2022 annual meeting in Philadelphia in September. The poster reports on a project funded by AAO–HNS’ Governing Council of the Women in Otolaryngology (WIO) Section which sed survey tools and a qualitative interview process to explore how female otolaryngologists manage gender bias in the workplace. It revealed strategies and tools that women (and all individuals) can employ to not only survive, but thrive, in surgical specialties. Tanya Meyer (Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Program Director) was co-investigator and mentor for the project with PI Amanda Hu.
- Congratulations to our Otolaryngology residents and fellows for awards received at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology (ASPO) held this past May in Dallas, TX.
- “What is earwax?” asked 8-year-old Helen E. For a very thorough answer, read the interview with Henry Ou, (Pediatric Otolaryngology – Program Director), in the “Curious Kids” section of The Conversation, a nonprofit independent online news organization dedicated to unlocking the knowledge of experts for the public good.
- Judith Pauwels is lead author of “Rural Graduate Medical Education: Choosing the Road “Less Traveled By” in Academic Medicine. Judy is a professor emeritus in the Department of Family Medicine and a consultant, Health Resources and Services Administration Rural Residency Program Development—Technical Assistance Center.
- The Huddle recently featured a profile “Get to Know: Peter Tarczy-Hornoch, Chief Data Officer.” Peter is the Chair of Biomedical and Health Informatics.
- Neurology resident Jamie Wright was featured in a story on the UW Medicine newsroom.