Hanukkah and Christmas holiday are upon us this month. The much anticipated COVID-19 vaccine is here too.  I hope the DIO Blog will put you in the holiday spirit to read the December 2020 GMEC Update.

People

Congratulations to the following members of our community:

• Dr. Brian Cervoini Rosario (PGY-2) was selected as a resident member of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Review Committee (RC) at the ACGME.
• Drs. Ben Massenburg (PGY-4) and Kajal Mehta (PGY-3) were selected by the Resident and Associate Society of the American College of Surgeons for two Global Surgery Work Group leadership positions. Dr. Massenburg will hold the Subspecialty Engagement Lead position and Dr. Mehta start as secretary and will advance to Vice Chair in 2022 and then to Chair in 2023.
• Gregory Walker (PGY-5) resident in the Department of Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine has published a paper with his department chair, Dr. Howard Chansky and another faculty member Dr. Mario Taylor for the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery entitled What’s Important: Take a Knee: It is our collective responsibility to dismantle systemic racism.
• Dr. Grant Hughes, associate professor of Rheumatology has received a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Award from the Arthritis Foundation for $10,000 to support the Rheumatology Fellowship training program.
• Dr. Bessie Young, professor of IM, VA division chief of Nephrology, won the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Award.
• The Triple I Outstanding Research Mentor Award was presented to Dr. Fuki Hisama, professor of IM, division of Medical Genetics for her exemplary mentorship of our UW medical students in the conduct of scholarly work.
• The Department of Surgery faculty members, Drs. Lisa Mcintyre and Nicole Zern published an article in JAMA entitled Emergency Restructuring of a General Surgery Program During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic: The University of Washington Experience.
• Drs. Nick Meo, Jon Ilgen, Niten Singh and Byron Joyner were involved in the recent article in the Journal of Graduate Medical Education about the University of Washington’s experience in the COVID-19 surge in the spring.

Programs

• Special Reviews continue to make improvements to our learning environment for residents and fellows. Dr. Best and Hadar Duman are working to assist each of the programs to reflect on areas where they might consider trying new approaches.

Progress

• The GMEC-sponsored CLER Subcommittee had its inaugural meeting the month to kick off the many projects to make progress in the areas of Patient Safety, Quality, and especially in Healthcare Equity and Teaming. This committee is chaired by Dr. Lindee Strizich, GME Director of Quality and Patient Safety, UWMC-Montlake.
• The GMEC-sponsored Clinical Learning Environment Review Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Task Force has completed its final meeting and the final draft of its charter which will be presented ot the GMEC for a vote next month.

Policies

There were three new GME policies presented and approved by GMEC:

• GME Appointment Policy
• GME Credentialing Policy
• GME Scheduling and Boarders Policy

Each of these new policies will clarify processes to improve conditions for residents and fellows in our community.  Check them out.

Partnerships

• GME held a winter Town Hall to discuss COVID-19 updates for the residents and fellows. Drs. Tim Dellit, Chris Kim and Nick Meo were present to answer questions, as were Cindy Hamra, Dipti Chrastka and Byron Joyner. We will continue to hold similar Town Halls every month to be sure that our trainees understand current COVID-19 information and obtain answers to their questions.

Projects

• Please see the COVID-19 Updates: GME Community for information for updates on the increasing COVID-19 pandemic in our community. We are working closely with UW Medicine leadership to include our housestaff thoughtfully and strategically in our efforts to protect our community.

Byron D. Joyner, MD, MPA
Vice Dean and Designated Institutional Official (DIO)
Graduate Medical Education, UW Medicine

November has a lot of celebrations, in fact 135, according to one source. But, the Thanksgiving holiday is the most popular in the US. While you’re nibbling on turkey, thanks for reading the November 2020 GMEC Update for our community.

People

• Congratulations to the following members of our community:
  • Seattle Children’s Hospital in-patient resident team which has included space during their rounds to discuss any concerns around equity, diversity and inclusion that may impact patient care.
  • Dr. Joel Kaufman was elected as a member of the National Academy of Medicine.
  • Dr. Elina Quiroga received the UW Award of Excellence for her outstanding work in mentoring Underrepresented in Medicine members of the community.
  • Dr. Kemi Doll published a personal essay in the New England Journal of Medicine about structural solutions for minority faculty in subspecialties in Medicine
  • Dr. Fuki Hisama published “Diversity, Inclusion and Equity in Medical Genetics: The time is now” in Medical Genetics
  • A former IM resident, Dr. Harvey Alter, received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his contributions to the discovery of the Hepatitis C virus.

Programs

• Parenting, lactation and call room resources have been improved and updated, thanks in large part to Natalie Brady, Hadar Duman, Cindy Hamra and Dr. Jennifer Best.

Progress

• The GMEC Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Executive Task Force, chaired by Dr. Byron Joyner and Dr. Barbara Goff (Chair, Obstetrics and Gynecology) had its first meeting this past week. The Task Force voted to approve a long-standing GMEC-sponsored EDI Subcommittee. The GMEC-sponsored Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Task Force will have its last meeting this month, just before presenting its findings and recommendations to the GMEC in January.
• The inchoate GMEC Clinical Learning Environment Review (CLER) Subcommittee has started to organize its committee members to better integrate, elevate and support accountability for efforts toward enhancing the CLER focus area: Patient Safety, Health Care Quality (including Disparities), Teaming and Supervision. If you are interested in contributing to the CLER Subcommittee, please look for the announcements.

Policies

• There is a new, comprehensive GME Leave Policy, which was approved by GMEC at the November meeting. The policy addresses state and federal laws, as well as ACGME and ABMS requirements.

Partnerships

• Dr. Tom Gallagher from the Center for Scholarship in Patient Quality and Safety, called attention to resources about helping to build an anti-racist society. The list included both local and national resources that will help people to have opportunities to become involved in anti-racist issues, concerns and projects.

Projects

• Please see the COVID-19 Updates: GME Community for information for updates on the increasing COVID-19 pandemic in our community. We are working closely with UW Medicine leadership to include our housestaff thoughtfully and strategically in our efforts to protect our community.

Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday!

Byron D. Joyner, MD, MPA
Vice Dean and Designated Institutional Official (DIO)
Graduate Medical Education, UW Medicine

Welcome to the new Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC) Update!

I am excited to share information with you on a monthly basis about our Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC) meetings which take place the second Thursday of every month.

The primary duty of UW GMEC is to oversee the learning environment for more than 1500 residents and fellows in our training programs. In order to provide the best oversight, all GMEC meetings involve representatives from all around our GME community, including housestaff, program directors, program administrators, compliance personnel, dental school administrators, VA leaders, dean’s office administrators and many others. Since we cannot fit everyone around the virtual GMEC table, I hope that these DIO Updates will allow you to follow news about our housestaff and those involved in training residents and fellows.

Starting this month, I will provide regular updates on GMEC’s activities, actions and initiatives. As the Chair of GMEC, I feel that it is my duty to inform you, the GME community of how GMEC cares for and protects the housestaff. As the Chair of the GMEC, I take this job seriously.

Every month, I will provide updates in the 6 Ps we have selected: People, Policies, Progress, Programs, Partnerships and Projects. I hope that these categories will cover the GMEC Update.

People

This section will cover those who have new, GME leadership positions or are transitioning in some way into or away from GME leadership.

• New program director: Dr. Tracy Tylee – Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition
• New program director: Dr. Michelle Weathered – Neurology
• New committee chair: Dr. Lia Halasz is assuming a new role as Chair of the GMEC Approved Fellowship (GAF) Committee. We thank Dr. Lisa Taitsman for her nearly 3 years of service!

Policies

One of the roles of the GMEC is to introduce new or revise existing policies that must be voted on by GMEC members.

• The UW Medicine Travel Policy has been abandoned and travel recommendations will now align with general University of Washington Travel Policy.
• GMEC approved revisions to the Telehealth Training Policy, Licensure Examination Policy and State Licensing Policy.

Progress

In this section, updates will be provided regarding progress in Institutional and Programmatic Accreditation, the Learning Gateway educational modules and quality and patient safety news.

Hadar Duman (Director of Accreditation) presented the results of our annual Accreditation Dashboard. This year, our Sponsoring Institution, the UW SOM has full accreditation, as do all of our programs. There are only 14 ACGME-accredited programs that have been identified for our Special Review process, which is intended to assist programs with meeting accreditation standards.

Partnerships and Projects

This section will provide high-level information about GME, UW Medicine, and UW SOM.

• The GMEC heard about the formation of a GMEC Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Task Force that will create the charge for the work of a long-standing GMEC-sponsored EDI Subcommittee. The Task Force will meet in early October.
• The work of the Scheduling Task Force is ongoing with an anticipated completion date of November 2020. Recommendations will be brought to GMEC early in 2020.

Keep up with GME news by following the GME Updates. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.

Byron D. Joyner, MD, MPA
Vice Dean and Designated Institutional Official (DIO)
Graduate Medical Education, UW Medicine

Please join us in welcoming Alexandru “Andrei” Dandescu, our new GME Wellness Counselor!!  Andrei comes with strong clinical skills as well as many unique experiences that include working as a therapist in varied settings.

Andrei starts his new position with us today, August 3 and will work three days a week. His office will be at Seattle Children’s Hospital.  Dipti Chrastka, our GME Wellness Service Director will work with Andrei to get him oriented to GME and open up his schedule to Wellness appointments in the next few weeks. Here is a bit of what Andrei shared with us.

Thank you for the opportunity to introduce myself.  My name is Alexandru Andrei Dandescu, please call me Andrei.

I was born and spent my early years in Campulung Muscel, a small medieval town nestled in the forests of the foothills of the Carpathian mountains.

The idyllic peaks, bucolic valleys,  jagged canyons and lively mountain streams of the Carpathians formed part of the natural borders between Walachia, Transylvania, and Moldavia the early nations that later became part of modern day Romania in 1918. Their serene, unspoiled natural environment fascinated me as a child, just as much as the vibrant local folklore and ancient lines of people.

I have a strong sense of origin and yet I see myself as an amalgam of diverse and constantly emerging interests. I am a proud Husky psychology undergrad and hold a Master’s Degree In Clinical Psychology from Radford University.

Exploring the Cascades and the greater Pacific Northwest helped me reconnect to the healing power of nature and the exuberant joy of hiking, skiing, biking and sailing. I feel compelled to research the therapeutic effects inherent in outdoor natural environments and the possible clinical and ecological impact of our species’ increasing disconnect from nature.

Over the course of the past twenty-something years, I have worked in various clinical settings, such as community mental health, private practice, residential care facilities, detention facilities, and hospitals.

My clients, co-workers, friends, and family, ongoing multicultural experiences and occasional world travel helped me better appreciate the individual complexity, numerous struggles and amazing potential of the always expanding human consciousness.  

At this time, I feel happy to be part of the Resident & Fellow Wellness Graduate Medical Education team and contribute to the wellbeing of our future healers and their partners.

In the News

• Dr. Abir Hussein, fellow (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is quoted in “Necessary or needless? Three months into the pandemic, Americans are divided on wearing masks” from NBC News.
• Dr. Nandita Mani, fellow, is lead author and Dr. Seth Cohen, clinical assistant professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is senior author of “Prevalence of COVID-19 Infection and Outcomes Among Symptomatic Healthcare Workers in Seattle, Washington” in Clinical Infectious Diseases. DOM co-authors are Jehan Budak, Kristine Lan, Chloe Bryson-Cahn, Maria Corcorran, Lisa Chew, Paul Pottinger, Timothy Dellit, Catherine Liu, Steven Pergam, Santiago Neme, John Lynch, and H. Nina Kim.

Recent Publications by General Surgery Residents

• Dr. Dara Horn, General Surgery Research Resident in the T32 Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Trauma, Injury and Inflammation under Principal Investigator Grant O’Keefe, published “Predictors
  of Mortality, Limb Loss, and Discharge Disposition at Admission Amongst Patients With Necrotizing Skin and Soft Tissue Infections” in the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery (February 2020).
• Dr. John Monu, General Surgery R4, published “Evaluating Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs About Lung Cancer Screening Using Crowdsourcing” in the Journal CHEST. (February 2020).
• Dr. Francys Verdial, General Surgery Chief Resident, published two articles in CHEST Journal: “Safety and Costs of Endobronchial Ultrasound–Guided Nodal Aspiration and Mediastinoscopy” (March 2020) and “Multidisciplinary Team–Based Management of Incidentally Detected Lung Nodules” (April 2020)

Awards

Community Updates

HQSC Leadership Board for 2020-2021

The UW Housestaff Quality and Safety Committee (HQSC) announced their Leadership Board for the 2020-2021 academic year.

• Chair of Development: Jenny Yu, MD (Plastic Surgery)
• Chair of Diversity and Inclusion: Jacqueline Dunahoe, MD (Orthopedic Surgery)
• Chair of Publications: Vince Raikhel, MD (Internal Medicine)
• Chairs of SQuIRREL: Ashley Tollefson, MD (Anesthesiology) & John Lipiz (Anesthesiology)

UW GME Leaders Appointed to ACGME Review Committees

Several leaders in our GME community were recently welcomed as members to the ACGME’s Review Committees:

• Byron Joyner, MD, MPA, Vice Dean, GME and Designated Instiutional Official (Institutional Review Committee)
• Heather McPhillips, MD, Program Director, Pediatrics Residency (Pediatrics RRC)

Program Updates

Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program Expansion

The UW Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program has received a 5-year $1.3 million training award from HRSA to expand from two to four fellows each year.  Fellows will train and provide care for underserved populations at Harborview Medical Center, Evergreen Treatment Services, Downtown Public Health Center, and Pioneer Square Clinic/Downtown Programs, and will participate in fellow didactics at the VA.  The program is based in the Division of General Internal Medicine at Harborview and is led by Drs. Joseph Merrill, Judith Tsui, and Jared Klein. Active recruitment for these additional positions is underway.

Internal Medicine Residency: Spotlight on Resident Research

The Internal Medicine Residency Program launched: “Spotlight on Resident Scholarship” to highlight research, quality improvement, medical education, advocacy, and other scholarly activities of UW Internal Medicine residents.  In the latest spotlight, “Sustainable mental health research capacity-building in Africa,” Dr. Helen Jack (R2) transformed the curriculum from a five-day workshop – on performing systematic reviews for early career mental health researchers from Ethiopia, Malawi, and Zimbabwe – to teach a “Training of Trainers” workshop that would allow local university faculty to repeat the workshop.  Universities in Ethiopia and Zimbabwe integrated Dr. Jack’s workshop into permanent curricula.  Dr. Jack intends to pursue a research-intensive career and continue her work examining capacity and implementation of mental health services in low- resource settings locally and abroad.

GME Updates

New UW/UWHA Contract

The new contract between UW and the UWHA was ratified by UWHA members on June 14.  The new UWHA Contract (effective until June 30, 2022) will be available on the UW Labor Relations website in the coming days.  The updated Stipend Schedule for UWHA Members effective July 1, 2020 is on the GME website.

GME Policy Updates

The Meals Policy has been updated to include new meal reimbursement rates at UWMC and HMC.  These were approved at the June 11 GMEC meeting.

Message sent to GME Community on June 1, 2020

Dear Colleagues,

With many others, the leadership and staff of Graduate Medical Education stand alongside our community at this devastating and violent crossroads in our nation’s history.

With you, we grieve the violent and senseless murders of Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and countless others who throughout centuries have died unseen and unnamed. We acknowledge that the history of Medicine on which our institution is built cannot be extracted from the abuse and disregard of black and brown bodies that continues today.

We support those of you engaged in peaceful protest and those of you marking these events in your own less visible ways. The path toward reconciliation is both collective and individual – and must be marked by action. That action may differ for each member of our community. All of us must consider our privilege, our knowledge and the importance of our voice.

We hope that you have seen the message from Dr. Ramsey regarding the virtual community gathering scheduled for June 3, during which there will be further discussion about what it means to be part of an institution that embodies anti-racism as a core value.

GME would also like to convene a virtual safe space in which our residents and fellows, program directors, administrators, staff and faculty may be and reflect together.

Please hold Thursday 6/4 at 6pm for a virtual forum (email uwgme@uw.edu to register).  We also invite you to connect with our Wellness resources, or consider meeting with our Wellness counselors Dipti Chrastka or Julia Kocian.

Sincerely,

Cindy A. Hamra, JD, MA
Assistant Dean, Operations & Administration
Graduate Medical Education| UW Medicine

Jennifer A. Best, MD
Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education
Associate PD, Internal Medicine Residency Program
School of Medicine | UW Medicine

Byron D. Joyner, MD, MPA
Vice Dean
Graduate Medical Education| University of Washington
Designated Institutional Official | UW Medicine

Dr. Byron Joyner
Vice Dean for Graduate Medical Education & Designated Institutional Official for UW SOM

I would like to extend a very warm welcome to all of you as we begin this exciting and historic academic year together.

In February, the city of Seattle was the first epicenter for COVID-19 in the US. Since then, many have been affected by the pandemic. We have all faced challenges and uncertainty.  As you start your journey at the University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSOM), we want you to know that we are here for you. We want you to gain all of the experiences and have all of the learning opportunities you need to do your work. We want you to feel that you are working in a safe learning environment. There will be a lot of uncertainty, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is slowly improving. But, there will also be a lot of uncertainty during your training because you will be – and should be – learning new things about your chosen specialty. You will meet new colleagues and friends. You will encounter new interdisciplinary teams. You will learn to take care of patients and, along the way, learn more about yourself.

Many things will be different and disorienting to us all and yet, the same great faculty and staff will be here to teach you and to help you along the way. Matriculating now into your new residency or fellowship program should be exciting– even for those of you who are UW alumni returning as subspecialty fellows. Our top priority is to offer all of you the best and safest clinical learning environment so that you can develop the skills, behaviors, and attitudes you will need to be successful, independent doctors.

You are one of the amazing high-caliber physicians-and dentists in-training that sets UW apart from other institutions. The new wave of 450+ residents and fellows joining us over the next 3 months only highlights this point. You represent an exceptional, diverse, and exceedingly qualified class who will enrich each other’s learning experiences.

Who you are

Exceptional.

• In total, you are 473 incoming residents and fellows
• You are pursuing 100 different specialties
• 287 of you are first-year residents

In some cases nearly 1/3 of all US medical school graduates going into your specialty applied to your UW program, and you are among the select few to be admitted to these very competitive programs.

Diverse.

• Altogether, you were born in 36 different countries
• 28% of you were born outside of the United States
• 44 of you graduated from a medical school outside of the United States.
• You span generations – you are GenZ’ers, Gen Y’ers, and Gen X’ers.

This is no accident. Diversity and inclusion are core values of UW Medicine and are affiliated training hospitals.

Qualified.

108 of you have achieved other graduate degrees. To name a few, these include:

• 21 PhDs
• 34 MPHs
• 6 MBAs

Where you are

Graduate Medical Education (GME).  GME programs sponsored by the UW School of Medicine are designed to train physicians with habits of life-long learning and mature ethical and professional approaches to their practice.

UW Medicine. Among nearly 800 institutions, UWSOM is the 5th largest in the number of programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), and 8th largest in the number of trainees. The UWSOM offers over 122 residency and clinical fellowship programs and partners with the School of Dentistry to support four dental residency programs which are accredited by the Commission On Dental Accreditation (CODA).  There are more than 70 non-accredited fellowship programs, too!

For more information about our accredited programs, see the Residency and Clinical Fellowship Programs.

WWAMI. UW Medicine is by far the largest sponsor of GME programs in the five-state region known as WWAMI, which includes Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho (WWAMI). UW Medicine has a very important role in building a physician workforce capable of meeting the requirements of a rapidly-evolving healthcare environment for urban, rural and underserved areas in our region.

In addition to Seattle-based training, there are three distinct models for GME across the WWAMI region – Community Based–UW Affiliated, Regional Training Tracks, and Regional Resident Rotations.

Who we are

GME Leadership. We are responsible for the administrative oversight and academic quality of UW’s residency and clinical fellowship programs. Most importantly, we are here for you. We want you to feel safe in an environment where you can learn. The GME leaders listed below oversee an amazing and committed team that supports residents, fellows and programs in the UWSOM.

• Byron Joyner, MD, MPA, Vice Dean for Graduate Medical Education and Designated Institutional Official
• Jennifer Best, MD, Associate Dean, GME Education & Accreditation
• Cindy Hamra, JD, Assistant Dean GME Operations & Administration

Please contact any of us with questions, comments, or concerns.

Getting Started

For reference materials, useful forms, and information on the various benefits that are available to residents and fellows at UW, please see the Incoming Residents & Fellows page on this site. Many pertinent details surrounding your rights and responsibilities can be found in the GME Residency and Fellowship Position Appointment (RFPA) Agreement.

Wellness. Be on the lookout for information from our Wellness team, highlighting wellness activities and opportunities in Seattle and around Puget Sound. At this time, for our safety and that of the safety of the public, we are still under Governor Jay Inslee’s orders of social distancing. We look forward to the time when you can hang up your white coat, get out of the hospital – and your home – and enjoy the life that indeed does exist outside of residency or fellowship training.

COVID-19 Culture. In the context of COVID-19, we must be mindful and vigilant. If you are ill, stay at home. Wear your mask and learn to don and doff properly. Look out for each other and for yourselves. We are in an uncertain time but we will get through this together, as long as we work together!

I look forward to working with you on new initiatives and ideas that will address the challenges we now face head-on. And, for all the new and exciting things this academic year will certainly bring for you, the GME Office’s core priorities remain the same: that you receive the best possible education, achieve and maintain a healthy work-life balance, and make a real difference for the patients that you serve. Our most significant wins and defining achievements in GME have always been rooted in housestaff ideas and in their participation.

In order for me to best do my job, I need to – and would like to – hear from you all of you. Your engagement is critical to ensuring that we have the best possible program for you, as well as for the patients we serve.

It is my distinct pleasure to welcome all of you to the University of Washington. I look forward to working with you and to embrace the opportunities and challenges that await us in the 2020-2021 academic year.

Be well and stay healthy!

Byron Joyner, MD, MPA
Vice Dean for Graduate Medical Education &
Designated Institutional Official for UW SOM