GME News & Notes: November 2025

Dear GME Community,

November News & Notes includes information and resources regarding a new files policy, GME files formatting updates, CRC and diversion training, and the UW compliance checklists. In November, we also recognize Veterans Day, and Native American Heritage Month.

During this time of year when we pause to be thankful, I want to express my appreciation for this wonderful, committed UWSOM community of trainees, programs, departments, leadership and members of the GME Office.

Thanks,

Cindy

New and Updated Policies

The ACGME has a weekly e-Communication. To sign up, email ACGMECommunications@acgme.org.

GME

• Most policies on the GME Policies webpage have transitioned from PDF to HTML webpages. These updates include the following (as applicable): reformatting of ACGME numbering, additions of Purpose statements, integrating footnotes into the body of the policy, and reformatting tables. These changes are formatting-related only and do not include changes to policy content. See Dr. Joyner’s September blog, which addressed these planned changes. Note that updated policies have new URLs: Please review any links to GME policies on your program websites or materials and update as needed. The remaining policies (those with (PDF) in the policy name link) will be converted in the coming weeks and a new Policy landing page launched.
• Resident and Fellow Files Policy: Revisions to the Resident and Fellow Files Policy were approved at the October GMEC meeting. An overview of the policy and discussion on best practices for file management will be presented at the March 2026 Program Administrators meeting.

UW Medicine

• Reminder – Required Registration for Official International Travel: Effective July 2025, all official international travel must be registered with the UW Office of Global Affairs through the UW Global Travel Registry before the expected departure date. This applies to any resident or fellow traveling abroad for international rotations.

Program Information

Please review the GME Annual Program Timeline for important dates in December and January.

Welcome New Program Administrators

• Elysia Belcher, Pediatric Pulmonology

Program Leadership Changes

ACGME Program Director appointments require Review Committee confirmation.

• Nick Hernandez, Adult Reconstruction (new Non-ACGME program)

Events

GME Events can be found on the GME calendar.

• November 20: GME Lunch & Learn: Drug Diversion Policy Training and Civil Rights Compliance Training recording and slides now available on the Lunch & Learn webpage.
• November 30: 2025 Seattle Marathon Medical Team Volunteer: if you are interested in volunteering for the medical team, register as a 2025 Seattle Marathon Medical Volunteer.
• FALL 2025 UW HQSC grant application cycle is open! Deadline Sunday, December 14 @ 11:59pm. The UW HQSC grant provides funding to support resident and fellow quality improvement projects. Grants are awarded in the fall and the spring and range between $250 and $1000. For projects with a focus on sustainability there is the possibility of multi-year funding. To apply, please review the November 13 ‘HQSC QI Grant Applications Open!’ email.

Program Save the Dates

• Onboarding Kick-Off Meeting: Tuesday, February 3, 2026; 8:30 AM – 10:30 AM
  • Hear from onboarding leads at external institutions. Recordings will be available on the Appointments & Credentialing webpage prior to the meeting. We will provide an opportunity for live Q&A.
• GME Orientation: Monday, June 22, 2026; 8 am-noon
  • Live virtual orientation for new residents and fellows onboarding in 2026. Recording will be posted for those unable to attend live.
• In-Person Community Building Circles: Monday, June 22, 2026; Afternoon – Details to Follow.
  • Location: UW Center for Urban Horticulture
  • Important info for programs: Do not schedule orientation activities in the afternoon following the GME Orientation.

Projects and Resources

GME

• Action Required – New Compliance Checklists: Tim Dellit announced the new and revised compliance checklists and a President and Provost-University-directed project using the checklists. Please see the November 12 email from Cindy Hamra for GME impacts and direct any questions to Cindy at hamrac@uw.edu.
• The Program Portal page has been reconfigured to incorporate existing page content with onboarding resources for new program directors and program administrators, and core resources relevant to new and existing program directors and administrators.
• UW GME is launching the Caregiver Collective to support residents and fellows returning to clinical training after welcoming a new child. This program connects new parents with faculty navigators who have navigated similar experiences and can serve as real-time, on-the-ground problem-solving partners in your clinical environment. Sign up on the Caregiver Collective webpage to join this supportive community. Contact Gwen Zellers at gzellers@uw.edu with any questions.
• GME is currently recruiting new resident & fellow members for the following groups: Learning Gateway Advisory Committee, GME Trainee Ambassadors, and the GME Parent Advisory Board. If you are interested, please see the 10/9 email from Dr. Jennifer Best.
• Members of the CIR-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 CIR-NW CBA.
• New Access Model for Resident & Fellow WhatsApp Interest Groups: WhatsApp-based interest groups for residents and fellows are moving to a pre-verification and invite-only model. Access to this survey is on the GME Get Involved webpage.
• We are pleased to share information about tuition support for clinical residents and fellows to pursue coursework at UW, including in the School of Public Health. Please see September 9 email from Cindy Hamra.

UW Medicine

• Revised COVID-19 Precautions Take Effect and Universal Masking Update
• Be Prepared for Winter Weather
• Safety Behavior of the Month: The Safety Behavior of the Month is “Mutual Support- Task Assistance”. This behavior is intended for use when a team member is overwhelmed or struggling to complete a task, as may occur during high-stress or high-volume situations where collaboration can prevent delays or errors. The behavior helps create a culture of safety, where seeking and offering help is encouraged and supported. To demonstrate this behavior, RECOGNIZE the need for help by paying attention to team members’ workload or challenges, OFFER support respectfully while ensuring the offer is framed as a collaborative effort, ACCEPT assistance graciously, and PROVIDE feedback afterwards on how the support improved outcomes. Find more details for this safety behavior as well as previous month behaviors on the Patient Safety Website.
• Medical Quality Improvement Committee Lessons Learned: What is MQIC?: Medical Quality Improvement Committee (MQIC) is a multidisciplinary committee encompassing all core service lines at UWMC. Its goal is to promote quality improvement and enhance patient safety through oversight and coordination of an ongoing standardized case review process. If you have an interest in learning more or participating, contact Laura Quinnan (lquinnan@uw.edu) or Jane Hitti (jhitti@uw.edu). To better cascade learning points from committee reviews, key highlights of discussions will be sent out to providers monthly.
  • Complex Transfusion Concerns: It is not unusual for patients with a history of many transfusions to develop antibodies that can lead to prolonged time for type and cross. Please be aware that when there are complex transfusion related issues, you are encouraged to speak to the Transfusion Medicine MD on call for consultation.
  • Sidedness in IR Procedures: When sending a patient for an IR procedure, it is critically important that the ordering provider confirms the sidedness/location and clearly indicates that in the order. Failure to accurately document this information can lead to delays and errors.

University of Washington

• Open Enrollment closes on Nov. 27 this year, attend the annual UW Benefits Fairs to learn more about coverage
• Option to Add Your Pronouns in Microsoft 365
• I-5 Roadwork and Lane Closures
• A New Way to Manage Your UW Retirement Benefits Is Coming

People

• Office of Healthcare Equity Newsletter – October 2025
• Newsweek Names UW Medical Center No. 1 Best-In-State Hospital
• UW Medicine Leaders make Power 100 List
• Markus Boos, Dermatology Program Director, and Mollie Grow, Pediatrics Associate Program Director, are quoted in “Wildfire smoke can make eczema worse — here’s what to know” from Right as Rain.
• Hui Xiao Chao, Hematology and Oncology fellow, is lead author of “Long-read DNA sequencing resolves a rare case of alloimmune hemolysis mimicking autoimmune hemolysis” in Transfusion.
• John Choe, Internal Medicine Program Director, is co-author of “AAIM recommendations for post-core clerkship clinical rotations to prepare for residency in internal medicine” in the American Journal of Medicine.
• Taylor Coston, fellow, is lead author and T. Eoin West, professor (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) is senior author of “Derivation and external validation of community-acquired pneumonia subphenotypes in Southeast Asia: a secondary analysis of prospective cohort studies” in eClinicalMedicine. Dr. Coston is also lead author of “Pre-referral Antibiotics and Mortality Among Adults With Sepsis in Southeast Asia: A Secondary Analysis of a Prospective Cohort Study” in Critical Care Medicine.
• Vishesh Kapur, Sleep Medicine Program Director, is quoted in “Here’s What Your Body Is Trying to Tell You if You’re Constantly Waking Up Before Your Alarm” in The Skimm.
• Emily Liang, Hematology & Oncology fellow, is co-author of “A Practical Guide to Competing Risk Analysis for Transplant and Cell Therapy Research” in Transplantation and Cellular Therapy.
• Alastair Murray, fellow, is lead author and Helen Chu, professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is senior author of “A Promise Fulfilled: Updates on RSV Vaccines and Monoclonal Antibodies” in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
• Radhika Narla, Internal Medicine Associate Program Director, is the clinical recipient, and Joshua Thaler, Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition Associate Program Director, is the research recipient of the 2025 Alan Chait Award for Excellence in Mentoring.
• Karin Nelson, Health Services Research & Development Program Director, is co-author of “National Trends in Electronic Messaging Utilization in Veterans Health Administration Primary Care” in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
• Yue-Harn Ng, Transplant Nephrology Program Director, is lead author of “The Association between Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status and Posttransplant Cancer Outcomes among Kidney Transplant Recipients in the United States” in Kidney 360. Dr. Ng was also accepted into the 2025/2026 QI scholars program. Learn more about the 2025-2026 co-hort.
• Congratulations to Ganesh Raghu, Interstitial Lung Disease Program Director, who has been selected as a Highly Cited Researchers from the Web of Science Group. His work has been identified as being among the most valuable and significant in the field.
• Namrata Singh, Rheumatology Associate Program Director, is co-author of “Comparative Safety of Advanced Therapies in Patients with Ulcerative Colitis: An Administrative Claims-based Study” in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.
• Congratulations to Ken Steinberg, Vice Chair for Education, Department of Medicine, who has been selected by the American College of Physicians to receive the Jane F. Desforges Distinguished Teacher Award. He will formally receive the award at the ACP national meeting in April and will also earn ACP Mastership at the same time as part of the award.
• Jürgen Unützer, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, has been named Doctor of the Year by Puget Sound Business Journal.
• Hannah Wild, General Surgery resident, is featured in “Why UW international travel registration matters: A UW surgeon improves casualty care in conflict settings” from UW Global.
• Douglas Wood, Chair for the Department of Surgery, is featured in “The key to fighting lung cancer is more screenings, new study shows” from The New York Times.

Wellness Corner

• The GME Wellness Service provides free, unlimited and confidential counseling to UWSOM GME residents and fellows.
• UW Medicine Peer to Peer program is available to residents and fellows, thank you to the residents and fellows who have joined as peer mentors.