Byron Joyner, MD, MPA
I am very excited about our new, 6-year GME strategic plan We’re excited about this plan, which shapes our priorities, guides our work and allows us to request resources. It’s also an important way for GME to communicate to our stakeholders about the breadth and depth of our work on behalf of this community. For the February DIO Blog, I’ve invited Cindy Hamra, Associate Dean for GME to share an update on the GME Strategic Plan. We’ll continue to share updates a few times each year to keep you updated on our progress.
Byron Joyner, MD, MPA
Vice Dean for Graduate Medical Education, Designated Institutional Official
Cindy Hamra, JD, MA
In August, we introduced the new GME Strategic Plan, which will be effective from July 2023 through June 2029. This is our fourth strategic plan since I have been in the GME Office and it’s by far been our most inclusive and robust process. We learn from each iteration.
The process of developing the final version of our strategic plan took about 11 months and included a SWOT survey to GME stakeholders, data analysis by a group of GME team members, reviewing guiding documents including ACGME requirements, the UW Medicine Strategic Plan, and the Office of Healthcare Equity Blueprint. We identified several themes and framed them according to our strategic values, which have guided our work since 2019. Although contexts may change, our strategic values have not. A snapshot of the resulting plan looks like this:
We’ve shared this resulting plan with many groups since July 2023, including this video. Our team has simultaneously been working on implementation – planning out the projects and work that we want to accomplish. I’m excited to share some of the many projects that are already complete or underway!
| Strategic Value | Strategic Initiative | Project / Work |
| Advocacy | Improve communication to programs and trainees regarding grant funding impacts | Develop GME Grant Funding Policy – complete |
| Communication | Leverage collective expertise of senior GME educators and share educational / administrative best practices | Develop template for new Vice Chair for Education (VCE) roles that can be used by departments in oversight of the educational mission – complete |
| Communication | Leverage collective expertise of senior GME educators and share educational / administrative best practices |
Engage departmental VCE to inform GME practices and community education and enhance program support – in progress
|
| Communication | Gather community for relationship building to enhance well-being in the workplace |
GME Office Professional Development Discussion Series – in progress
|
| Expertise | Strengthen support for and oversight of non-ACGME programs | Develop Visa Matrix for departments to navigate requirements for fellows in faculty and non-faculty titles – complete |
| Integration | Proactively align educational structures with UW Medicine’s clinical strategy |
Patients experiencing incarceration eLearning module – in progress
|
| Integration | Proactively align educational structures with UW Medicine’s clinical strategy | HealthierHere eLearning module – in progress |
| People | Build trust / credibility with trainees at-large | Enhance mechanisms for receiving and responding to trainee feedback (e.g., special reviews, chief residents listening sessions, trainee forum) – in progress |
The table above reflects a fraction of the work that is underway. We welcome input from and participation by our community. If you’re interested in joining this work, feel free to reach out to me.
We’ll continue to share updates with you for the duration of the plan. In the meantime, feel free to reach out if you have questions or feedback. We believe this work will make our GME community stronger and the learning experience better for our residents and fellows.
Cindy A. Hamra, JD, MA
Associate Dean, Operations & Administration
Graduate Medical Education| UW Medicine