Dear GME Community,
Cindy Hamra Associate Dean, GME
It’s a busy, exciting time as we begin to onboard the approximately 500 new residents and fellows who will join our training programs this summer. Thanks in advance to program and department colleagues who work with the GME team on this big initiative. Please reach out to Shinetra Pryor (pryor@uw.edu) for support or questions. The April DIO blog reported on our great institutional Match results for this year.
The GME Office is offering several educational events for both program leadership and residents and fellows over the next few months. We are also hiring a second GME Float Administrator to join our team. Information about these is in the April GME News & Notes.
Thanks,
Cindy
Policies and Processes
- Do you have questions about visa eligibility and requirements for program applicants? Resources for programs are posted on the Visas page on the GME website, including the September 2023 Lunch & Learn presentation on IMGs and Visa Sponsorship. The next Lunch & Learn on this topic is scheduled for September 19.
- GME Float Administrator: The GME Office is currently hiring for a second Float Administrator (Req #233223). If you have any questions about the position, please feel free to contact Gabrielle Pett (nathangl@uw.edu).
- Residency and Fellowship Position Appointment (RFPA) Agreement for 2024-2025: the AY25 RFPA was approved by GMEC on January 11 and is now available on the Policies and Procedures, Current Residents and Fellows, and Prospective Residents and Fellows pages of the GME website.
Program Information
- Welcome New Program Administrators:
- Nick Cheung, Family Medicine
- Jeanine Hughes, Geriatric Medicine and Palliative Medicine
- Amy Ravenhorst, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Brain Injury Medicine, Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine, and Sports Medicine
- The ACGME has a weekly e-Communication. If you wish to receive it, email ACGMECommunications@acgme.org.
Events of Interest
- Please consider supporting the UW SoM Medical Student Association fundraising drive. They have been working with the UW Bookstore to design and put together shirts, sweaters, crewnecks, and zip-hoodies to be marketed and sold to raise money for MSA to support medical student events and initiatives. The drive is scheduled to conclude on April 22nd, but they are working to extend the deadline. Purchase your gear at https://www.ubookstore.com/uwsom
- GME Lunch & Learns
- The third session of our Cultivating Skills in Feedback and Critical Conversations Education Series is Tuesday April 23 from 11:30am to 1:00pm (Zoom). The topic is: Tales from the CCC: Insider Stories on Elevating Trainee Assessment. Program directors, associate program directors, program administrators and faculty are welcome. For planning purposes, please RSVP. Please reach out to Amanda Easton and Jenn Johal if you have questions.
- We are excited to announce a comprehensive Four-Part Leadership Lecture Series designed specifically for residents and fellows! Each month, we will delve into crucial areas that shape effective leadership in the medical profession, presented by experts in the field. Mark your calendars and join us! Please see the January 18 email from Jennifer Best for more information.
- Program Administrator Meeting, May 14 from 8:30 – 9:30 am: ACGME Annual Educational Conference Recap
- Thank you again to those who attended the Scheduling Workshop Series! A lot of content was covered, and we appreciate your attendance and engagement. If you haven’t already shared, we would welcome your feedback on the series and/or thoughts for future training in this short, anonymous survey. Each of the workshop recordings are now available on the GME MedHub site under “Scheduling Resources” along with other helpful resources below:
- Workshop Recordings: Scheduling 101, Scheduling 102, Scheduling 103
- GME Finance
- Leaves of Absence
- Other GME Events can be found on our calendar.
Projects and Resources
Please review the GME Annual Program Timeline for important dates for the months of April and May.- In February, UW GME launched the new UW GME WhatsApp group exclusively for residents and fellows. Since its launch, we’ve welcomed over 70+ trainees to the community, and we have Expanded our Opportunities to include interest groups like “GME Parents” and “Quick Meals on the go!” Additionally, some other WhatsApp groups, such as “UW IMG Residents & Fellows” and “UW Surgery,” have linked up with the UW GME community, further enhancing connectivity and collaboration.
- The GME Office has put together a resource regarding information about legal matters for trainees. This document was created with input from Risk Management and Claims Services and is designed to be used by both trainees and programs. The resource is posted to the GME Website and can be found on the Current Residents and Fellows page under UW Resources.
- Physicians Anonymous is a peer based nonprofit organization which offers free anonymous support groups with med students, residents/fellows and MD/DOs who are suffering from burnout/mental health/suicidal ideation and substance use. There are a couple of groups during the week (free) and they also offer coaching (nominal fees). The group is fully anonymous so there is no mechanism for documentation or mandating referrals.
- Housestaff Emerging Academy of Leaders (HEAL) is a networking and professional development program designed for residents, fellows, and supporting faculty. HEAL participants attend virtual monthly sessions designed to provide them with key knowledge and skills that are necessary for their career success. The program is designed to further develop and provide housestaff (residents/fellows) from across the nation with the additional components needed, ideally, for a successful transition into the role of academic faculty. The HEAL-UTSW team is excited to start off HEAL-UTSW2024 next month, May 2024, and would love to see you there! Please complete your HEAL-UTSW application by May 13th.
- Safety Net is the new event reporting tool that replaced Patient Safety Net (PSN); there is now an icon for Safety Net on all UW Medicine desktop computers for easy access and all new reports should be entered using Safety Net. The Safety Net User Resource Page includes training materials, online support and transition plans.
People
- Every year, the UW School of Medicine Alumni Association recognizes exceptional alumni with a series of awards, presented during Reunion Weekend. Eligible alumni are those who received a degree from, or completed residency or fellowship training in, a program administered by the UW School of Medicine or one of its academic departments. The 2024 Award Recipients include:
- Lawrence E. Holland, MD, Orthopaedic Surgery ’86, Distinguished Alumnus Award
- Scott R. Stuart, MD ’01, Internal Medicine Res. ’04, Chief Res. ’05, Alumni Service Award
- Andrew Trister, MD, PhD, Radiation Oncology Res. ’10, Chief Res. ’14, Alumni Early Achievement Award
- Read more about each awardee here.
- The Huddle recently published an article written by Dr. Chen Wu, the faculty advisor for the Housestaff Quality & Safety Committee (HQSC) which took a group of trainees to learn about high reliability industries at a fantastic visit to Horizon Air. 3 Lessons Healthcare Teams Can Learn From Commercial Aviation
- This article in the Huddle features UW Medicine medical student programs and a new graduate medical education alliance that are working to address the shortage and increase community connections: Increasing Access to Physicians for American Indian Communities
- A New Era for Behavioral Health in Washington State UW Medicine announces the opening of the Center for Behavioral Health and Learning.
- National Recognition for UW Medicine Hospital Leaders: Cindy Hecker, Sommer Kleweno Walley and Jeannine Grinnell are included on Becker’s 2024 list of Women Hospital CEOs to Know.
- Ryan Abe, clinical instructor (General Internal Medicine) has been appointed the new Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) for the Division of General Internal Medicine. Dr. Abe will lead the development, implementation, and assessment of DEI initiatives across the division’s various clinical, research, scholarly, and training programs.
- Kelley Branch, Cardiovascular Disease Associate Program Director, authored “Evolution or Revolution?: AI in Coronary CT Evaluation” in the Journal of American College of Cardiology: Advances, and co-authored “Cardiovascular and renal outcomes with varying degrees of kidney disease in high-risk people with type 2 diabetes: An epidemiological analysis of data from the AMPLITUDE-O trial” in Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism.
- Jeffrey Probstfield, professor, and Kelley Branch, Cardiovascular Disease Associate Program Director, are co-authors of “The Cost-Effectiveness of Rivaroxaban Plus Aspirin Compared with Aspirin Alone in the COMPASS Trial: A US Perspective” in the American Journal of Cardiovascular Drugs.
- Rory Cole, resident, was featured as a guest columnist for the Idaho Capital Sun, contributing “Commentary: My hardest decision: Practicing medicine in Idaho.”
- Molie Grow, Pediatrics Associate Program Director, is featured in “Here’s what changes could be coming to school meals in Washington” from KREM Spokane. She is also featured in “Along with cherry blossoms and the budding spring comes seasonal allergies” from KUOW.
- Cindy Hecker, University of Washington Medical Center CEO, is featured in “Opinion: Many patients, not enough beds — here’s how to solve a care crisis” from The Seattle Times.
- Barbara Jung, professor and chair of Medicine, is quoted in “Ozempic-like drugs linked to low, but increased risk of post-endoscopy pneumonia, study finds” in STAT.
- In the latest Department of Medicine resident scholarship spotlight, “Improving preconception & contraceptive counseling for people with rheumatologic diseases,” Leah Karlsen designed a framework providers can use for reviewing medications and ordering lab work during preconception visits. The framework also helps providers determine the safety of various contraceptive options in this patient population. View spotlight.
- Mukta Krane, Colon and Rectal Surgery Program Director, is featured in “Under 50? You need to think about colon cancer, too” from Right as Rain.
- Family Medicine’s Cognition in Primary Care team partnered with Amy Law and Joe Wilson from the GME Learning Gateway Team to create Cognition in Primary Care online, self-guided version of their popular live Zoom training series. This training supports primary care clinicians by providing best practices for diagnosing and treating patients with dementia. They structured content and built engaging interactions to create a 60-minute, CME eligible, learning experience that is being delivered to clinicians across the country through CDC’s learning platform.
- Edwin Lindo, Assistant Dean for Social and Health Justice within the Office of Healthcare Equity, is featured in “Advancing Reproductive Justice in OB-GYN” from The Huddle.
- John Lynch, HMC Associate Medical Director, was interviewed for PBS: The Invisible Shield the documentary series, which highlights the field of public health and the people working to improve health outcomes. He and Chloe Bryson-Cahn, associate professor, are also co-authors of a new study using genetic testing of preoperative patient microbiomes shows that most surgical-site infections that emerge after major spine surgery come from bacteria already on the patients’ bodies before they enter the hospital. Read the full story from UW Medicine Newsroom.
- James McCabe, Structural Heart Program Director, is co-author of “Transcatheter aortic valve implantation in patients with high-risk symptomatic native aortic regurgitation (ALIGN-AR): a prospective, multicentre, single-arm study” in the Lancet.
- Sarah Prager, Complex Family Planning Program Director, is featured in “Opill: The first over-the-counter birth control is here” from Right as Rain.
- Jacqueline Raetz, Family Medicine Associate Program Director, is featured in “Giving Primary Care Docs Training, Tools to Manage Dementia” from the UW Medicine Newsroom.
- Ganesh Raghu, Interstitial Lung Disease Program Director, is lead author, and Robin Bennett, professor (Medical Genetics) is senior author of “Genetic factors for ILD—the path of precision medicine” in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. Department of Medicine co-author is Juliet Torres. Dr. Raghu was also co-senior author of “The Role of Inflammation and Fibrosis in ILD Treatment Decisions” in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
- Monica Soni, Internal Medicine resident, is lead author of “Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disease” in JAMA. Senior author is Amiko Uchida, a graduate of the program.
- Ken Steinberg, Department of Medicine Vice Chair of Education and Internal Medicine Program Director, is co-author of “Strengthening the Integrity of the Match: A Novel, Comprehensive, Standardized, and Transparent Postinterview Communication Policy” in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
- Jürgen Unützer, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Chair, is featured in “Future cities must prioritize mental health of young people” from UW Medicine Newsroom. He is also featured in “What a decades-long study teaches us about brain health and aging” from UW Medicine.
- Vid Yogeswaran, fellow (Cardiology) has received a Research Fellowship Award from the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) to study atrial myopathy, atrial fibrillation and stroke outcomes. This competitive post-doctoral research fellowship in cardiac electrophysiology encourages and supports research training in basic or clinical electrophysiology and assists awardees in initiating careers in electrophysiology research while obtaining significant research results.
- Annette Wundes, Multiple Sclerosis Program Director, is featured in “Living with multiple sclerosis: HealthLink” from KING-TV.
- James Wykowski (former Internal Medicine Chief Resident) and other Department of Medicine faculty authored “An Embedded Curriculum to Teach Critical Incident Debriefing to Internal Medicine Residents” which was featured as an ACGME Article of the Week.