Dear GME Community,
As the year draws to an end, we share our Reflections on 2024 and our gratitude for this wonderful community. Some things to celebrate include selection of Dr. Mark Harrast for the Bruce C. Gilliland Award and an article in the Huddle featuring stories from former trainees who are now leaders at UW Medicine: Why Our Residents and Fellows Stay – and Lead – at UW Medicine.
We are looking forward to working with Dr. Alex Chiu, who joins UW Medicine in January as the New Executive Vice Dean. I’m also excited to share that Branden Phanmaha is our new Associate Director for GME Finance, leading the Finance team in the GME Office.
December News & Notes contains information about the Annual Scheduling Window for WISH, spring 2025 Lunch & Learn topics, a call for participation in our newly approved GME Resident-Fellow Clinical Coverage Task Force and many other useful items.
Thanks,
Cindy
Policies and Processes
- Programs that would like to discuss any GME Impacts of the UW Medicine and Valley Medical Center Announcement, please contact Cindy Hamra.
- Annual Scheduling Window Opens for WISHTrack Users on January 13th: Each January, WISH opens annual scheduling for recurrent activities and course series for the following academic year (July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026). In order to support migration to WISH’s new WISHTrack system, the schedule will be open for EARLY ACCESS online booking starting at NOON, on Monday, January 13th. Programs may continue to submit requests via email using the WISH Scheduling Request Template, starting at NOON, on Monday, January 27th (Regular Access).
- EARLY ACCESS REQUIREMENTS – Prepare! Familiarize yourself with WISHTrack
- WISHTrack is WISH’s new online information management system with capabilities such as online scheduling and equipment requests, course documentation, learner attendance and evaluations, as well as data management and reporting.
- Instructions/tutorials for use of the online system well as links and times for live WISHTrack Trainings and User Support Sessions (via Zoom), are available HERE via the WISH website.
- Be Prepared – In order for courses to be available for request, both the requestor and the courses must be registered in the WISHTrack system prior to a request being made.
- If a course was held with WISH in the last 6 months, it will already have a WISHTrack ID, but if it’s an older or brand-new course – WISH can work with you to make sure the system is updated ahead of time.
- A list of WISHTrack Course IDs is available in the online Course Catalog.
- EARLY ACCESS REQUIREMENTS – Prepare! Familiarize yourself with WISHTrack
- A friendly reminder to all clinicians from our colleagues in Risk Management not to use secure chat for emergent issues and that secure chats are subject to public record requests.
- Training Extension Form on the Appointments & Credentialing page has been updated to the Current Appointment Change Form. The new form will be used to request individual appointment updates for chief designation, overnight call, training extension, and training reduction.
- Meeting and away conferences that take place during VA assignments require pre-approval from the corresponding site director and designated education officer. Please submit these requests to the VA no later than 30 days before leave occurs.
- Complimentary Access to Cortex: The AAMC and Thalamus have announced that all ERAS participating programs will have complimentary access to Cortex for the 2026 ERAS season (see November 7 press release). The GME Office will hold an information session for programs in the coming months. Details to come.
- New Non-ACGME Programs: Is your department planning to launch a new non-ACGME fellowship program? Visit the Non-ACGME Program Resources page for resources including the application for new non-ACGME programs.
- Remember that trainees who are members of the RFPU-NW are entitled to one (1) paid personal holiday per calendar year. If unused in the calendar year, the personal holiday is forfeit, and it is not paid at separation. It is the employee’s responsibility to schedule the personal holiday before December 31st. Please see complete information in Article 12 of the RFPU-NW Contract.
- UW Medicine Epic News and Reminders
- Epic Upgrade/2FA Changes began on October 20: this upgrade includes a new 2FA requirement for Epic Mobile Apps (Haiku, Canto, Rover). Providers are encouraged to setup the Authentication App before 10/20 to avoid delays accessing the mobile Apps. Details have been sent out in the Epic and UWMC Weekly newsletters. Review the Enrollment Instructions for more information.
- Dragon Medical One (DMO) Dictation: Residents and fellows are enrolled in Dragon at onboarding, but there are still a few steps that need to be completed for setup. Instructions are on the Dragon Medical One page in the UW Medicine EHR Hub and linked from the Getting Ready for UW Medicine Epic EHR page on the GME website.
- Epic Personalization (Customization): Looking to be more efficient in Epic? Complete the Epic Physician Personalization eLearning in the Learning Hub (login and search for Epic Physician Personalization) and review the Epic Customization Quick Start Guide in the UW Medicine EHR Hub which will walk you through the steps to create customized Order Sets, Preference Lists, and SmartPhrases, and directions on how to set up your Dashboard.
- Best Practices for Recruiting and Supporting International Medical Graduates: The GMEC IMG Task Force has developed best practices and resources for programs to reduce barriers to recruitment of IMGs which is now available on the Recruitment Resources page of the GME website under Application and Recruitment: UW > Recruiting and Supporting International Medical Graduates: Best Practices.
Events of Interest
- GME Lunch & Learns
- January 16: ACGME Surveys
- February 20: Workplace Safety
- March 20: Annual Program Evaluations (APEs)
- Program Administrators and department staff involved in the appointment and onboarding process of new residents and fellows in Workday are encouraged to join us on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, from 8:30am-12pm for the AY26 Onboarding Kickoff Meeting. This virtual event will provide an overview of the onboarding and reappointment processes for the upcoming academic year. No registration is required for this event. Complete information can be found in the 12/2 email from Shinetra Pryor.
- The March 2025 Educator Development for GME Excellence (EDGE) session registration is now open. This virtual session is Tuesday, March 25, 2025 from 10:30 am and 12:00 pm and will focus on “Supporting Trainee Disability Accommodations” with Hayley Fisher, UW GME.
- 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 December and January.- Cindy Hamra and Dr. Jennifer Best are excited to co-chair a newly approved GME Resident-Fellow Clinical Coverage Task Force, which will address variability in how training programs partner with clinical services to ensure continuity of care in light of increased utilization of leave of all types by residents and fellows. They are hopeful that members of our community including residents, fellows, chief/exec residents/fellows, program directors and program administrators will be interested in participating. Please see their December 12th ‘Call for nominations: GME Resident-Fellow Clinical Coverage Task Force (due 12/31)’ email for complete information. Interested individuals should send an email to Cindy Hamra and Jennifer Best by 12/31/2024. Please offer a brief explanation (1 paragraph) of your interest in participating.
- Stress First Aid: Anne Browning and Marie Cockerham share how this simple tool can help you check in on your well-being and that of others.
- The GME Office has created 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.
- Affordable housing available near the Seattle campus; priority for UW employees: UW employees receive priority access to vacancies at Bridges@11th in the U District. There are three MFTE units available: studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units.
- The holiday season is often a time of giving by grateful patients, vendors, and other outside organizations. State employees within UW Medicine are governed by the Washington State Ethics in Public Service Act with regard to the gifts they may accept and how they may redirect gifts they cannot accept. Common questions about gifts from patients and other external sources (including food and beverages) and other related topics are answered in the Gifts from External Sources FAQs on the UW Medicine Compliance website. Additional information is available on the Internal Audit website.
- Institutional Post Recruitment Survey: Programs received a summary of the Institutional Post Recruitment Survey for the 2023 and 2024 recruitment seasons on October 4. We continue to ask programs to include the survey link in post-recruitment survey communications to interviewed applicants. Please contact Gabrielle Pett with questions.
- Thanks to Michael Hardin in Facilities for this guide to the all gender restrooms on the Harborview campus [UW Medicine password required]
People
- Anne Browning, Chief Well-Being Officer and associate dean for Well-Being, has collaborated on the One Fun Thing series with The Huddle; see the Self-Care Survival Guide (Holiday Edition). She is also featured in ‘”6 Ways to Reduce Suffering With Radical Acceptance” from Right as Rain.
- Yaacoub Chahine, Internal Medicine, is lead author and Nazem Akoum, Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Program Director, is senior author of “Atrial fibrillation substrate and impaired left atrial function: a cardiac MRI study” in EP Europace. Department of Medicine co-authors are Nadia Chamoun, Ahmad Kassar, and Lee Bockus.
- Congratulations to Cassandra Chiao, fellow (Nephrology) who received a Fall 2024 Cares Award.
- Mark Harrast, Sports Medicine (PM&R) Associate Program Director, is featured in” 6 Common Running Injuries (and What to Do About Them)” from Right as Rain.
- Cooper Kersey, fellow, is lead author and Chris Longenecker, professor (Cardiology) is senior author of “Ischemic Evaluation in New‐Onset Methamphetamine‐Associated Heart Failure” in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Department of Medicine co-authors are Danelle Hidano and Joey Chiang.
- Emily Liang, fellow, is lead author, and Jordan Gauthier, associate professor (Hematology and Oncology) is senior author of “Development and validation of predictive models of early immune effector cell-associated hematotoxicity (eIPMs)” in Blood Advances. Department of Medicine co-authors are Jennifer Huang, Andrew Portuguese, Natalie Wuliji, Mohamed Sorror, Joshua Hill, Noam Kopmar, Rahul Banerjee, Andrew Cowan, Ajay Gopal, Christina Poh, Mazyar Shadman, Brian Till, Alexandre Hirayama, Erik Kimble, Lorenzo Iovino, Aude Chapuis, Folashade Otegbeye, Ryan Cassaday, Filippo Milano, and David Maloney.
- Ganesh Raghu, Interstitial Lung Disease Program Director, is senior author of “Development and Evaluation of ABI-171, a New Fluoro-Catechin Derivative, for the Treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis” in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. He is also co-author of “Precision Cut Lung Slices: Emerging Tools for Preclinical and Translational Lung Research. An Official American Thoracic Society Workshop Report” in the American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology.
- Xavier Sendaydiego, Internal Medicine, is lead author and Namrata Singh, Rheumatology Associate Program Director, is senior author of “Use of Biologic or Targeted Synthetic Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs and Cancer Risk” in JAMA Network Open.
- Ariana Stuart, R2, is quoted in “AI May Improve MASLD Diagnosis Rate” in Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News. She is also quoted in “AI Helps Spot Liver Disease Early” in Health Day. Read more about her research on the Department of Medicine news site.
- The Department of Surgery Newsletter ‘Surgery Synopsis’ features many voices of the GME community: Check out the Fall 2024 issue.
- UW Medicine Hospitals Receive Certification for Digital Health Excellence