by nathangl | Jan 24, 2022 | Announcements, Events, GME News & Notes, News
Dear GME Community,
First, our sincere thanks to our colleagues in UWMC and Health Sciences Building facilities, who replaced all mattresses and box springs in the Crow’s Nest on Friday, January 21. We advocated for this change based on information received via the GME Report a Concern form. Remember to check the GME website for Information by Training Site: Sleep/Rest Facilities, Food, Quiet Spaces.
The January issue of GME News & Notes includes information about the updated return to work policy, a reminder that the COVID vaccine is a condition of employment, and information about three updated policies. We also share information about the new GME Endowed Fund, and many individual awards and recognition. If there’s anything you’d like to see included in next month’s News & Notes, please let me know.
Please remember to check the GME website where many current forms, policies, processes, and educational resources are posted. We also appreciate your feedback about what else we can add to make website more useful.
Finally, we were excited to see that The Huddle article from June 2021 welcoming our new residents and fellows was one of the 10 most read last year! 2021 Year in Review | UW Medicine Huddle.
Happy New Year,
Cindy Hamra
Assistant Dean, GME
Policies and Processes
- UW Medicine Staffing During COVID Surge: Please read the Staffing During COVID-19 Surge; Updating Our Return-to-Work Policy announcement sent on January 19 from UW Medicine leadership.
- The Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC) approved revisions to several policies at the January meeting. All are posted on the Policies and Procedures page of the GME website.
- Case and Procedures Management Policy: Revisions includes updates to guidelines for safeguarding protected health information (PHI), case and procedure log management and tracking guidelines for trainees and programs, and the addition of a new section on procedures certification management in MedHub.
- Immunization and Health Screening Policy: Includes the addition of full vaccination against COVID-19 as a requirement prior to first day of training.
- Residency and Fellowship Position Appointment (RFPA) Agreement (2022-2023): A communication about revisions to the RFPA for AY23 was sent to programs, residents and fellows on January 14. Programs currently interviewing for next academic year must share the updated agreement with applicants invited to interview.
- COVID Vaccines, Boosters and Attestations
- COVID Vaccine Requirement: Programs must continue to communicate to applicants that the COVID-19 vaccine is required as a condition of employment. This requirement is on the Prospective Resident and Fellows page of the GME website and included in the Immunization and Health Screening Policy.
- COVID Booster Signup and Documentation: Due to the rapidly increasing prevalence of the Omicron variant in our community, it is more important than ever to get a COVID-19 booster if you are eligible. Sign up on the UW Medicine Employee Website for COVID-19 Vaccine Scheduling site. If you received your booster outside of UW Medicine, please submit documentation of your booster to Employee Health so that your record can be updated. Information about boosters and how to provide documentation can be found on the GME COVID-19 Updates page under Vaccine Compliance.
- UW and UW Medicine COVID symptom daily attestations: For trainees engaged in any clinical activity during a given day, they need to complete the UW Medicine attestation, NOT the UW Workday attestation. Link to the attestation: 2019 Novel Coronavirus (nCoV) Response Program (uwmedicine.org). QR codes linking to this attestation are also all over clinical sites.
- Vaccine Requirements & Attestation for non-UW Medicine Training sites: GME has received information about vaccine requirements for non-UW Medicine training sites. See the COVID-19 Updates page of this website for details. If you know of others, please share them with us so we can distribute broadly.
- Please make sure that you’re wearing a mask when you’re in a UW Medicine or UW space! Employees are required comply with the COVID-19 Face Covering Policy on campus or the UW Medicine face covering policy at the medical centers as a condition of employment or will be subject to corrective or disciplinary action including dismissal from University employment.
- UW Medicine Employee Assistance Fund: The University of Washington launched the COVID-19 Employee Emergency Fund (EEF) in June 2020 to support employees who have experienced a financial hardship due to the COVID-19. The pandemic continues to take a financial toll and the EEF is still accepting applications. In addition, employees who have already received the maximum amount available to EEF recipients may now reapply if they experience a new financial hardship due to COVID-19 at least three months after last receiving EEF support.
- Please continue to check the Travel Restrictions section of our COVID-19 Updates page for updated travel guidelines from the GME Office, UW Medicine, and the UW Office of Global Affairs, including updated restrictions on international travel.
- The GMEC approved the appointment of Lianne Hirano, as the new program director for the Palliative Medicine fellowship at the January meeting. ACGME approval is still required.
- Welcome new GME Program Administrators:
- Erin Greenfield, Pediatric Infectious Diseases
- Amanda Jamieson, Pediatric Pulmonology
- Megan Osika-Dass, Neurological Surgery
- The National Resident Matching Program announced the transition to a new combined Medicine and Pediatric Subspecialties Match beginning in 2022 for the 2023 appointment year. This change will benefit both programs as well as partners from each specialty who can now apply to the Match as a couple.
- The ACGME released a Letter to the Community on January 13 addressing Changes in Response to GME Community’s Concerns which describes the changes being implemented by the ACGME to respond to the current environment, balanced with their accreditation responsibilities to programs, residents, fellows and patient care.
- The ACGME is still accepting applications and letters of interest for the next round of Back to Bedside projects. The ACGME seeks proposals for awards for resident- and fellow-developed, innovative, grassroots strategies to improve, foster, or cultivate meaning in clinical learning environments by increasing opportunities to build connections with patients and improving the physician-patient relationship. Proposals are due February 21, 2022.
- Updated ACGME Program Directors’ Guide Available: An update to the residency version of the Program Directors’ Guide to the Common Program Requirements has been completed. This focused revision addresses changes in the requirements since the Guide was first published. The eBook is now available on the ACGME website and in Learn at ACGME. The updated fellowship version of the Guide will be available soon.
- Milestones Mid-Year Reporting Window Open Until February 11: In response to the recent COVID-19 surge and its impact on Sponsoring Institutions and programs, the reporting window has been extended by one month until Friday, February 11, 2022. This change is reflected in the Accreditation Data System (ADS). Milestones assessments can be submitted via ADS at any point before this date.
- Annual ACGME Awards: The ACGME is now accepting nominations for the 2023 Awards Cycle. Deadline is Wednesday, April 6, 2022, 5:00 p.m. Central time.
Events of Interest
- GME Lunch & Learns: The Recording and Materials from our January Lunch & Learn are now available on the GME website. Topics covered include ACGME Surveys and Disability Accommodations for Applicants and Trainees. The next Lunch & Learn on February 17 will cover GME Financing and Funding.
- Navigating Parental Leave for Resident Physicians: Thursday, February 3, from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. All residents, fellows and guests are encouraged to attend via Zoom. See agenda. For those unable to attend, the event recording will be posted on the Resident & Fellow Seminars page of the GME website. If you are looking for information on Leave prior to February, please explore our Growing Your Family webpage.
- Mindful Resilience: Managing and Thriving with Stress and Challenges: This 6-week course draws from the empirically validated approaches of both Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT) curricula, as well as some of the latest neuroscience and research work around trauma and resilience. Sessions run Tuesdays, January 11 through February 15, 2022, from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. For more information, please visit the UW Center for Child and Family Well-Being website.
- Coping with Uncertainty & Effects of Chronic and Acute Stress on Well-Being: Wednesday, February 9, from 12 -1 p.m. This session of the UW Medicine Well-Being and Resilience Curriculum will look at models of post disaster recovery and emotional well-being.
- Other GME Events can be found on our calendar
Projects and Resources
- The GME Office is currently hiring for two new positions: Float Administrator (Req #199360) and Program Manager, Operations & Administration (Req # 201458).
- Thanks to UW Medicine Advancement for designing a new tool to support GME programs via the Graduate Medical Education Endowed Fund, which provides central support through the GME Office for resident and trainee research, diversity recruitment, community engagement and wellness activities.
- Congratulations to the Housestaff Quality and Safety Committee (HQSC) on the recent publication of HOUSE. This edition coincides with HQSC’s 10 year anniversary.
- Bright Horizon’s Backup Care: Effective January 1, 2022, all Bright Horizons backup care can be reserved up to 60 days in advance, with a cancellation notice of 48 hours. Additionally, for those needing care for mid-winter break or spring break, please note that in March and April of 2022, Bright Horizons will offer $0 co-pays for in-center backup care.
- Looking for discounts to on winter activities in the region? Check out the list of Winter Discounts offered from the WholeU.
People
- Cammie Bullock, program administrator for Pediatric Cardiology, Congenital Cardiac Surgery, and the Pediatric Cardiology subspecialties, is the new co-Chair for the Program Administrator Advisory Council (PAAC).
- Daniel Cabrera, chair of the GMEC EDI Subcommittee is featured in The Huddle: “Building Equity Within Graduate Medical Education”
- Congratulations to Cameron Chalker, resident, Internal Medicine, who has been selected as a recipient of the Fall 2021 UW Medicine Cares Awards. UW Medicine established the UW Medicine Cares Award in 2013, a program to formally recognize and celebrate the accomplishments and excellence of those in the UW Medicine community who consistently exemplify the UW Medicine Service Culture Guidelines.
- Başak Çoruh, associate professor and fellowship program director, Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, will serve as Vice Chair of the American Thoracic Society (ATS) Education Committee, effective May 2022.
- Jedediah Doane, resident, Internal Medicine, is lead author and Eoin West, professor, Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, is senior author of “Progressive Pulmonary Fibrosis After Non-Critical COVID-19: A Case Report” in the American Journal of Case Reports. DOM co-authors are Mark Wurfel and Kellen Hirsch.
- Kat McGhee Drummond, program administrator, Rheumatology fellowship, is the subject of the Department of Medicine Staff Spotlight for December.
- Lauren Feld, fellow, Gastroenterology, co-wrote “Progress still needed for pregnant and postpartum gastroenterologists” in GI & Hepatology News.
- Vickie Hau, resident, Anesthesiology, has been selected for the 2022 HQSC co-chair position. Dr. Hau is completing her residency in Anesthesiology this year and will continue at UW as a fellow next year in Obstetric Anesthesiology. She has expressed a passion for increasing housestaff engagement in patient safety and quality improvement and has been involved in efforts to standardize operating room procedures to decrease variance and waste.
- Cooper Kersey, resident, Internal Medicine, is lead author, and Younghoon Kwon, associate professor, Cardiology, is senior author of “Cardiac Arrest during Transesophageal Echocardiogram (TEE) due to Acute Right Ventricular Failure” in Case Reports in Cardiology. DOM co-authors are Fitsumberhan Medhane, Andrew Pattock, Linda Liu, and Gary Huang.
- Amy Law, GME learning gateway lead instructional designer, is co-author of A Brief Online Implicit Bias Intervention for School Mental Health Clinicians
- Olubusola Oluwole, fellow, Hematology and Oncology, is the inaugural recipient of the National Hemophilia Foundation Diversity Jeanne Marie Lush (JML) Diversity Fellowship.
- Gabrielle Paras, resident, Internal Medicine, is lead author, and Roland Walter, professor, Hematology, is senior author of “Conditioning Intensity and Peri-Transplant Flow Cytometric MRD Dynamics in Adult AML” in Blood. DOM co-authors are Filippo Milano, Brenda Sandmaier, Lucas Zarling, Mary Flowers, H. Joachim Deeg, Frederick Appelbaum, and Rainer Storb.
- Shobha Stack, fellow, Palliative Medicine, is lead author and Jennifer Best, associate dean, GME, is senior author of “Parental Leave Policies in Residency: A National Survey of Internal Medicine Program Directors” in Academic Medicine.
- Congratulations to the following recipients of Idaho American College of Physicians Awards:
- Clinical Vignette by Resident: Pramod Chavali and Rick LeCheminant, residents, Internal Medicine-Boise
- Quality Improvement Project: James Yan, resident, Internal Medicine-Boise and a group of interprofessional colleagues
by nathangl | Jan 6, 2022 | Announcements, News
Dear Residents, Fellows and GME Community,
Happy New Year!
As we enter 2022, the Resident & Fellow Physician Union – Northwest (RFPU-NW) and the University of Washington begin bargaining for the third collective bargaining agreement. The last two negotiations were both lengthy and challenging. We hope that the next six months will be different with each side coming to the table with goodwill and shared commitment towards collegial, productive discussions.
The UW GME Office looks forward to celebrating housestaff wins. Our role in negotiations is to advocate for the housestaff to UW Medicine leadership, serve as subject matter experts regarding matters of policy, accreditation, and finances, and to connect with other subject matter experts whose scope affects residents and fellows.
Accordingly, the GME Office commits to the following values as we enter negotiations in 2022:
- Be at the table regarding decisions that affect our residents and fellows
- Articulate clear common goals in support of the work that residents and fellows do and to secure resources for them
- Serve as an expert in accreditation and education, bridging UW Medicine and the housestaff during and after negotiations
- Appreciate and enculturate a healthy, diverse and inclusive learning environment
- Promote well-being so that our community can grow and thrive
- Consistently interact in a professional and collegial manner with all parties involved in negotiations
All contract negotiations are challenging, and the reality is that compromises are necessary to arrive at any agreement. We expect difficult conversations but look forward to a process that is collegial and ultimately elevates us all.
Byron Joyner, MD, MPA
Vice Dean for GME and DIO
by nathangl | Dec 17, 2021 | Announcements, Events, GME News & Notes, News
Dear GME Community,
Our team enjoyed meeting so many residents and fellows at Harborview last week to hand out lunches. Thanks to UW Medicine Advancement for providing the Peet’s coffee as well. There’s lots to share in the December 2021 issue of News & Notes including a how to submit documentation of your COVID booster, updated information about the UW Medicine Employee Assistance Fund, Holiday Gift Guidelines and an update to UW’s Bereavement Policy, in addition to events, resources and publications.
As the end of 2021 approaches, we want to make sure you’re aware that the GME website is the first place to go to find current forms, policies, processes, and educational resources. We also appreciate your feedback about what else we can add to the website to make it more useful.
Finally, we want to (re) share A Message From Dr. Paul Ramsey, CEO: Holiday Greetings and Thank You to Our UW Medicine Community.
If you have anything you would like included in future News & Notes posts, please send to me at hamrac@uw.edu.
Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season,
Cindy Hamra
Assistant Dean, GME
Policies and Processes
- Industry Interactions Policy: The GMEC approved revisions to the Industry Interactions Policy (formerly known as the Vendor Interactions Policy) at the December meeting. Changes include closer alignment with the UW School of Medicine Policy on Potential Financial Conflicts of Interest for Commercial and Non-Profit Entities; new sections on speeches/presentations at meetings and consulting; and updates to the FAQs.
- COVID Boosters and Attestations
- COVID Booster Signup and Documentation: Due to the rapidly increasing prevalence of the Omicron variant in our community, it is more important than ever to get a COVID-19 booster if you are eligible. Sign up on the UW Medicine Employee Website for COVID-19 Vaccine Scheduling site. If you received your booster outside of UW Medicine, please submit documentation of your booster to Employee Health so that your record can be updated. Information about boosters and how to provide documentation can be found on the GME COVID-19 Updates page under Vaccine Compliance.
- UW and UW Medicine COVID symptom daily attestations: For trainees engaged in any clinical activity during a given day, they need to complete the UW Medicine attestation, NOT the UW Workday attestation. Link to the attestation: 2019 Novel Coronavirus (nCoV) Response Program (uwmedicine.org). QR codes linking to this attestation are also all over clinical sites.
- Vaccine Requirements & Attestation for non-UW Medicine Training sites: GME has received information about vaccine requirements for non-UW Medicine training sites. See the COVID-19 Updates page of this website for details. If you know of others, please share them with us so we can distribute broadly.
- UW Medicine Employee Assistance Fund: The University of Washington launched the COVID-19 Employee Emergency Fund (EEF) in June 2020 to support employees who have experienced a financial hardship due to the COVID-19. The pandemic continues to take a financial toll and the EEF is still accepting applications. In addition, employees who have already received the maximum amount available to EEF recipients may now reapply if they experience a new financial hardship due to COVID-19 at least three months after last receiving EEF support.
- Update to Bereavement Policy to support staff impacted by miscarriage or stillbirth: UWHR has updated the Bereavement time off webpage to note that the policy applies to miscarriage or stillbirth of the employee’s child. In accordance with collective bargaining agreements, eligible employees may take up to three days of paid bereavement time off. Managers may approve sick time off to extend an absence when a staff member needs more time to grieve, heal, make arrangements and cope with a loss.
- Holiday Gift Guidelines: 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 Ethics in Public Service Act with regard to the gifts they may accept and how they may redirect gifts they cannot accept. Read the Gifts, Food, and Meals from External Sources – FAQs on the UW Medicine Compliance website. Additional information is available on the Internal Audit website. Contact UW Medicine Compliance at 206.543.3098 / comply@uw.edu or UW Internal Audit at 206.543.4028 / iaudit@uw.edu if you have any questions.
- Please continue to check the Travel Restrictions section of our COVID-19 Updates page for updated travel guidelines from the GME Office, UW Medicine, and the UW Office of Global Affairs, including updated restrictions on international travel.
- Please make sure that you’re wearing a mask when you’re in a UW Medicine or UW space! The University has published a corrective action process for violations of the Face covering policies. The process can be found on the HR website. Employees are required comply with the COVID-19 Face Covering Policy on campus or the UW Medicine face covering policy at the medical centers as a condition of employment or will be subject to corrective or disciplinary action including dismissal from University employment.
- Welcome new GME Program Administrators:
- Kay Burke, Thoracic Surgery and Thoracic Surgery-Integrated, Department of Surgery
- Arielle Miles, Addiction Medicine, Department of Medicine
- Meryl Yang, Allergy and Immunology; Global and Rural Health, Department of Medicine
- The ACGME is currently accepting applications and letters of interest for the next round of Back to Bedside projects. The ACGME seeks proposals for awards for resident- and fellow-developed, innovative, grassroots strategies to improve, foster, or cultivate meaning in clinical learning environments by increasing opportunities to build connections with patients and improving the physician-patient relationship. Proposals are due February 21, 2022.
-
Events of Interest
- “Got Burnout?”: Monday, December 20, 4-5pm Zoom Link, Meeting ID: 9990929 Passcode: 371555
- Exploring Gratitude: Positive Emotions and Expansive Thinking: The next session of the UW Medicine Well-Being and Resilience Curriculum is on exploring gratitude. Practicing gratitude is one of the keys to experiencing resilience and to mitigating risks of burnout. Wednesday, January 12, 12-1pm.
- Free drop-in mindfulness meditation: Reflect with gratitude on compassion given and received this past year, and learn ways to cultivate and recommit to a compassionate new year with the Center for Child & Family Well-Being.
- Other GME Events can be found on our calendar
People
- Sarah Baker, fellow, Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is lead author, and. Conrad Liles, professor and associate chair, is senior author of “Clinical presentation, complications, and outcomes of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in an academic center with a centralized palliative care consult service” in Heath Science Reports. DOM co-authors are Doug Leedy, Jesse Abbott Klafter, Yilin Zhang, Tristan Osborn, Richard Cheng, Seth Judson, Susan Merel, Carmen Mikacenic, and Pavan Bhatraju.
- Jennifer Best, associate dean, GME, Weston Powell, fellow, Pediatric Pulmonary, and Heather McPhillips, program director, Pediatrics residency, were recently featured on the AAP podcast for their research on parenting during pediatric residency.
- Workplace discrimination common among liver doctors: Hepatologists say they experience workplace discrimination, especially if they are women or BIPOC, results from a new survey reveal. Lauren Feld, fellow, Gastroenterology, presented her results at the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease this month. The study was conducted through the AASLD Women’s Initiatives Committee. Read the story from UW Medicine Newsroom.
- Lauren Feld, fellow, Gastroenterology, is quoted in “Workplace Discrimination Common in Hepatology” in Medscape and “’Concerning’ Opioid Prescribing in Patients With Cirrhosis— PCPs more than twice as likely as gastroenterologists to prescribe opioids” in MedPage Today.
- Christine Johnston, associate program director, Infectious Diseases fellowship, talked to KUOW for “Seattle Now: Your booster questions, answered.”
- Heather McPhillips is the new Associate Dean for Curriculum for the University of Washington School of Medicine. She will officially begin the position on December 1, 2021 and will transition to the full scope of responsibilities on March 16, 2022. Heather will transition out of her current role as Program Director, Pediatrics.
- Ryan Murphy, senior fellow, is lead author and Teal Hallstrand, professor, Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) is senior author of “Selecting the Optimal Therapy for Mild Asthma” in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society. DOM co-authors are Garbo Mak and Laura Feemster.
- The VA Puget Sound welcomes new Deputy Associate Chief of Staff for Education, Aaron Norr, who will primarily be responsible for Staff Development. Norr also holds an appointment as an Acting Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.
- Please join GME in welcoming Branden Phanmaha as Business Analyst in GME Finance starting December 15th. The Business Analyst role will support billing and accounts receivable as well as lead several continuous improvement projects.
- Paul Pottinger, Program Director, Infectious Diseases Fellowship, is quoted in “Healthy Living: Staying safe while traveling for the holidays” from Q13 Fox.
- Evelyn Qin, resident, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, is primary author of Patient-reported functional outcomes 30 days after hospitalization for COVID-19 – PubMed (nih.gov) Mentors include James Andrews, assistant professor, Division of Rheumatology.
- Vax the Max: Over the summer of 2021 it was noted that there were tens of admitted patients at the VA Puget Sound who had no documented COVID-19 immunization. In response The Chief Residents at the VA implemented the Vax the Max This is a gamification of COVID-19 tasks where internal medicine ward teams are awarded points for COVID-19 vaccine engagement. Points are awarded for vaccine administration, scheduling vaccination after discharge, and for counselling vaccine hesitant patients. The competition has been paired with a vaccine hesitancy workshop that is offered monthly to all medical students and residents rotating on medicine services at the VA. Team points are tallied weekly, and a trophy rotates to the team with the most points. At the end of the block a certificate, signed by VA and Internal Medicine Residency leadership, is awarded to the team with the most points accumulated over the 4-week block. Since implementation, we have observed an increase in our hospitals rate of COVID-19 immunization, and recently passed the milestone of 100 vaccines being administered since implementation of Vax the Max. Thanks to Chief Resident for Quality and Patient Safety VA Puget Sound, Vincent Raikhel for sharing.
- Lauren Samples, Hematology Oncology fellow, was awarded the title of Practitioner Lead in Quality & Safety within the Hospital & Specialty Medicine service line at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System. This new, annual award recognizes and celebrates providers involved in quality improvement and patient safety endeavors. Lauren was specifically acknowledged for her participation in the “Medicine call cycle restructuring” project.
- Neha Sathe, fellow, is lead author and Mark Wurfel, professor, Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, is senior author of “Relationships Between Age, Soluble Triggering Receptor Expressed On Myeloid Cells-1 (Strem-1), And Mortality Among Critically Ill Adults: A Cohort Study” in Shock. DOM co-authors are Pavan Bhatraju, Carmen Mikacenic, Eric Morrell, F. Linzee Mabrey, and W. Conrad Liles.
by nathangl | Dec 10, 2021 | Announcements, News
The hustle of this holiday season can be a welcome change from daily routines. The season can also bring extra pressure – extra commitments, in-person gatherings and the unpredictability of COVID-19 and the newly identified Omicron variant. Yet there is also much to celebrate, including Washington State’s high vaccination rate, which is our community’s best path toward health.
As we near the end of 2021, we wish to share some of the year’s good things from the GME perspective. Throughout 2021, the GME Office has consistently held to our strategic plan to advocate for our residents and fellows, and provide expertise, quality and value.
Wellness has been a top priority this year, with the pandemic’s ebb and flow leaving many feeling isolated and anxious. In response to trainee distress, the GME Office expanded Wellness counseling access for residents and fellows by hiring a third wellness counselor, Patty Long-Brohm, LICSW. Patty’s addition has already significantly improved the availability of appointments. We are also thrilled to announce that we will be hiring a fourth Wellness Counselor soon! Stay tuned for details.
The GME Office has taken advantage of Washington State’s successful vaccination campaign and resumed hosting select in-person events. This fall we enjoyed pumpkin patch and movie events in Seattle and look forward to a botanical garden visit in Boise.
Since June, we’ve also enjoyed hosting GME Outreach Events at our hospitals, inviting residents and fellows to pick up free lunch and GME swag. Our team has enjoyed saying hello to so many of you! This fall GME Leadership hosted what we hope is the first of many Chief Resident/Fellow Listening Sessions – another opportunity to hear directly from trainees about how we can better support housestaff.
We’ve also worked closely with our partner hospitals to review sleep/call rooms and food access. This year we launched the Information by Training Site web page which lists Sleep/Rest Facilities, Food, and Quiet Spaces. We also have documented and posted Lactation Rooms by Hospital to better support our new parents.
In our ongoing efforts to improve the learning environment, we have significantly revised the GME Concern Reporting Form, which allows concerns to be submitted anonymously or not. We review all concerns and attempt to act on each one, working with various leaders in our hospitals and community to make positive change. GME also has an active presence in the UW Medicine Bias Reporting Tool response team.
The GME Office is also heavily invested in efforts to enhance equity, diversity and inclusion. We were part of the Network of Underrepresented Residents and Fellows’ (NURF) Diversity Recruitment events, which reached over 500 individuals applying to our programs. We also launched a GMEC EDI Subcommittee chaired by Dr. Dan Cabrera, which is working to develop curriculum and tools regarding implicit bias and other relevant topics for our community.
We welcome every opportunity to support our residents and fellows and to improve the clinical learning environment. If you have questions, concerns or suggestions, we always want to hear from you.
Best for the holiday season and Happy New Year!
Byron Joyner, MD, MPA
Vice Dean for GME and DIO
Jennifer Best, MD
Associate Dean, Accreditation and Education
Cindy Hamra, JD
Assistant Dean, Operations and Administration
by nathangl | Nov 18, 2021 | Announcements, Events, GME News & Notes, News
Dear GME Community,
November is Native American Heritage Month. In the November issue of GME News & Notes, we include updated information about the new Training Site Information Page, Holiday Gift Guidelines, the Husky Prevention Response Course, the UW Medicine Influenza Vaccine requirement and the ACGME Back to Bedside initiative.
Additionally, and as in past months, this issue of GME News & Notes has lots of information about awards, publications, new program leadership, etc.
If you have information you would like included, please send to me at hamrac@uw.edu.
Cindy Hamra
Assistant Dean, GME
Policies and Processes
- Holiday Gift Guidelines: 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 Ethics in Public Service Act with regard to the gifts they may accept and how they may redirect gifts they cannot accept. Read the Gifts, Food, and Meals from External Sources – FAQs on the UW Medicine Compliance website. Additional information is available on the Internal Audit website. Contact UW Medicine Compliance at 206.543.3098 / comply@uw.edu or UW Internal Audit at 206.543.4028 / iaudit@uw.edu if you have any questions.
- The UW now requires all incoming students and new employees to complete the Husky Prevention & Response course — a foundational training that is tailored differently for students and employees to help them seek resources as well as recognize, interrupt, prevent and report sex- and gender-based violence and harassment. Over the coming year, all UW employees will be expected to complete the 60- to 90-minute online course. More information will be shared in winter quarter. In the meantime, any employee can complete Husky Prevention & Response employee course now. Please see UW President Ana Mari Cauce’s November 15 email for more information.
- Healthcare Helpers Initiative: Employees interested in participating can register at Healthcare Helpers and sign up for an available shift. Please note that roles may require additional training or qualifications. You can review these items and detailed role descriptions on the Volunteer Resource Page by selecting the quick link for “Hospital Volunteers.” Please note that residents are not considered classified staff and so may volunteer but are not eligible to be paid
- The UW Office of Global Affairs has updated the UW International Travel Rules and Restrictions Policy
- New Program Director Appointment Policy: The GMEC approved revisions to the New Program Director Appointment Policy at the November meeting. Revisions reflect changes to the ACGME Institutional Requirements and Common Program requirements, as well as clarification and updates to the existing appointment process.
- The deadline for UW Medicine Influenza Vaccination is November 30. Information about compliance is as follows:
- How can I get a flu shot? Please swing by your local UWMC Employee Health Clinic, a local provider, or pharmacy
- What should a resident or fellow do if they were vaccinated elsewhere? Bring a copy of the documentation to UWMC-Employee Health or email emhealth@uw.edu (Montlake) or employeehealthnw@uw.edu (Northwest) from a UW email account. Individuals can send a photo or a scan of documentation or provide their name, Employee ID number, date of vaccine and where the flu shot was received (Rite Aid, Costco, etc.).
- What if a resident or fellow wants to decline the vaccine? Immunization is what will protect our patients, fellow staff, and providers and public. But if a trainee chooses to decline, there are three required steps:
- Complete the on-line education Flu vaccine declination module available on the Employee Health page of the UW Medicine intranet and print a copy or screenshot with confirmation of module completion.
- Meet with Employee Health RN or ARNP to have one-on-one education about declination.
- Formally decline by signing the written declination. This must be done annually!
- Employee COVID booster eligibility: Currently, UW Medicine is scheduling booster appointments for the following individuals who completed their initial vaccine series at least six months previously for Moderna or Pfizer, and at least two months previously for Johnson & Johnson.
- Moderna or Pfizer: Ages 18-64 with underlying medical conditions or who are at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure and transmission because of occupational or institutional setting, including healthcare workers
- Johnson & Johnson: Age 18 and older
- Review the COVID-19 Vaccine Updates & Information page for additional information
- Please make sure that you’re wearing a mask when you’re in a UW Medicine or UW space! The University has published a corrective action process for violations of the Face covering policies. The process can be found on the HR website. Employees are required comply with the COVID-19 Face Covering Policy on campus or the UW Medicine face covering policy at the medical centers as a condition of employment or will be subject to corrective or disciplinary action including dismissal from University employment.
- UW and UW Medicine COVID symptom daily attestations: for trainees engaged in any clinical activity during a given day, they need to complete the UW Medicine attestation, NOT the UW Workday attestation. Link to the attestation: 2019 Novel Coronavirus (nCoV) Response Program (uwmedicine.org). QR codes linking to this attestation are also all over clinical sites.
- Vaccine Requirements & Attestation for non-UW Medicine Training sites: GME has received information about vaccine requirements for non-UW Medicine training sites. See the COVID-19 Updates page of this website for details. If you know of others, please share them with us so we can distribute broadly.
- Open Enrollment is here: For benefits-eligible employees, Open Enrollment is a once-a-year opportunity to make changes to health plan elections or enroll in a Flexible Spending Arrangement (FSA) or the Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP). Employees make changes in Workday, and changes must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. PST on Nov. 30. Open Enrollment elections go into effect on Jan. 1, 2022
- The ACGME is currently accepting applications and letters of interest for the next round of Back to Bedside projects. The ACGME seeks proposals for awards for resident- and fellow-developed, innovative, grassroots strategies to improve, foster, or cultivate meaning in clinical learning environments by increasing opportunities to build connections with patients and improving the physician-patient relationship. Proposals are due February 21, 2022.
Events of Interest
- The next GME Outreach event will be on Friday, December 10, at Harborview Medical Center. We will share more information closer to the event date.
- Science Says Lecture Series: Trevor Noah, comedian and host of The Daily Show, will chat with Fred Hutch researchers – including Department of Medicine members Drs. Philip Greenberg and Rachel Issaka – who are boldly working to end cancer and COVID-19 during the event Trevor Noah Talks with Fearless Scientists Tackling Cancer and COVID-19 on Tuesday, November 30, from 2-3:15 p.m. Register for the event on the Fred Hutch website.
- Other GME Events can be found on our calendar
People
- The Pediatrics Residency has won the ACGME Barbara Ross Lee Diversity Award! The renamed Barbara Ross-Lee, DO Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award honors ACGME-accredited Sponsoring Institutions and programs, as well as specialty organizations, working to diversify the underrepresented physician workforce and create inclusive workplaces that foster humane, civil, and equitable environments.
- Lauren Feld, fellow, Gastroenterology, received an Advanced/Transplant Hepatology Award from the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases Foundation. The purpose of this award is to encourage the academic career of exceptional hepatology trainees.
- Fuki M. Hisama, program director, Medical Genetics and Genomics residency, is the senior author of “Exome and Genome Sequencing for Pediatric Patients with Congenital Anomalies or Intellectual Disability: an Evidence-Based Clinical Guideline of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics” published in Genetics in Medicine (2021;23:2029-2037). This high-impact manuscript has been viewed >10,000 times in the first month following publication and has been reported in multiple national news outlets. Below are social media links regarding this publication. See ACMGE News Release and National News Release
- Barbara Jung, professor and chair, Department of Medicine, has been elected to the American Clinical and Climatological Association (ACCA). ACCA was organized in 1884 to improve medical education, research and practice in the U.S.
- Cooper Kersey, resident, Internal Medicine was the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) hospital medicine oral presentation winner at the Washington American College of Physicians annual meeting for “Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Myocarditis: Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself.”
- Whitney Kiker, fellow, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, and J. Randall Curtis, professor, Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, are co-authors of “Goal-Concordant Care After Severe Acute Brain Injury” in Frontiers in Neurology.
- Joe Merrill, program director, Addiction Medicine, received an Outstanding Research Mentor Award. Nominated by students throughout WWAMI, 17 mentors were selected by the School of Medicine Scholarship Committee to receive Outstanding Research Mentor Awards
- Danny Miller, resident, Combined Pediatrics and Medical Genetics and Genomics, received an Outstanding Presentation Award at the 2021 Seattle Children’s Hospital Fellow and Resident Research Day, and the Best Presentation Award at the 42nd Annual David W. Smith Workshop on Malformations and Morphogenesis. His mentors include Evan Eichler PhD (Genome Sciences) and Junko Oshima, MD, PhD (Department of Pathology and Lab Medicine).
- Joey Nelson, resident, Family Medicine, was featured in the recent article What Being First Generation Means to These Students in The Huddle
- Olubusola Oluwole, fellow, Hematology Oncology, was selected as the 2021 National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF) Jeanne Marie Lusher Diversity Fellowship Award recipient. She was awarded $52,000/year for up to three years for her research project “A prospective study of clinical and imaging assessment of cognitive function and its association with anemia in adults with sickle cell disease at the University of Washington.”
- Alex Stoller, program administrator, Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition, is featured in the Department of Medicine Staff Spotlight for November.
