by nathangl | Mar 23, 2022 | Announcements, Events, GME News & Notes, News
Dear GME Community,
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Cindy Hamra Assistant Dean, GME
First, I want to express our concern and support for the members of our community with connections to Ukraine. If you can benefit from support, please look to UW Medicine Employee Mental Health Resources.
It’s the start of spring, warmer weather, and longer days. In addition, there are exciting signs of change and progress, like the hopeful decline of COVID in our community, and Match day results. The GME Office is excited to start the process of welcoming and onboarding the residents and fellows who will join us this summer. Dr. Joyner will share more information about Match results in his April DIO Blog.
We’re also excited to welcome two new members to our GME Team: Amanda Easton joins GME as Program Manager for Operations and Administration, and Karyn Crow joins us as a second Float Administrator! We’re thrilled to continue to strengthen the GME Team and our capacity to support trainees, programs and departments.
A rite of spring is the blooming of the UW Quad cherry blossoms. UW arborist Sara Shores put together this interactive graphic to explain how different parts of the tree work.
The March 2022 issue of GME News & Notes includes a reminder about the COVID vaccine and booster requirements, information about new and updated policies, resources for parents, and information about upcoming events. As usual, if there’s anything you’d like to see included in next month’s News & Notes, please let me know.
Policies and Processes
- The Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC) approved revisions to several policies at the March meeting. All are posted on the Policies and Procedures page of the GME website.
- GMEC Approved (Non-ACGME Accredited) Programs Policy: Revisions include adding language on restrictions on creating parallel non-ACGME programs if ACGME-accredited programs currently exist at the institution, restrictions on creating non-ACGME positions in ACGME programs, guidelines on appointments for non-ACGME programs seeking to apply for ACGME accreditation once available, and a requirement for non-ACGME programs to develop a program-specific eligibility and selection policy.
- Institutional Supervision and Accountability Policy: Revisions include updated supervision requirements addressed in the ACGME Common Program Requirements, specialty-specific requirements for direct and indirect supervision via telecommunication technology, reference to procedure certifications outlined in the Case and Procedure Management Policy, and program requirements for supervision of handoffs. The Supervision Policy template for programs was also updated and programs will be contacted soon to revise their program policies.
- The COVID Vaccine requirement remains a condition of employment for all incoming residents and fellows. Programs, please see email from Hayley Fisher outlining the verification process (“COVID-19 Vaccine Verification Requirements for Incoming Residents and Fellows” dated 3/11/2022). If you have an incoming resident/fellow seeking a medical or religious exemption, please notify GME as soon as possible.
- COVID Booster requirement: All UW Medicine employees (except for those in non-clinical roles in the School of Medicine) are required to receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot or complete a declination process by March 31, 2022. There is still time to get your booster or to fulfill the other requirements for compliance. More information is available at the COVID-19 Booster Campaign.
- UW Medicine has updated the Policy on Professional Conduct
- ACGME Emergency Categorization: Emergency Categorization for the UWSOM was granted on February 1, 2022, and expired March 2, 2022. The GME Office did not request an extension of Emergency Categorization. All previously suspended ACGME activities resume, and programs are subject to all Common and Specialty-Specific Program Requirements.
- The GMEC has approved appointment of the following new program directors; all appointments await ACGME confirmation:
- Kenneth Steinberg, Alaska Internal Medicine Rural Residency Program
- Cary Paine, Nephrology
- Amanda Maskovyak, Forensic Pathology
Events of Interest
- We welcome new Program Directors and Program Administrators (<1 year) to join us for our April GME Meet & Greet on Monday, April 4 from 12 – 12:45pm (no registration is required). This is intended to be an informal introductory event for our newest colleagues to meet each other and GME office staff.
- GME Lunch & Learns
- GME Program Administrators Meeting: Tuesday, April 19, 8:30-10:30am
- Trauma Stewardship Institute Workshops: UW Medicine and the School of Medicine are partnering with Laura van Dernoot Lipsky and the Trauma Stewardship Institute to address the accumulative toll of the pandemic on UW Medicine healthcare staff and providers through a 2-hour system-wide workshop. Recordings will be posted online for those unable to attend live.
- Register now for the GME Spring Program Director Development Series (PDDS) sessions! See agenda. Registration closes at 8am on March 25. Topics are:
- Morning: Interdisciplinary Teamwork in the Clinical Learning Environment
- Afternoon: Harmonizing the Milestones
- Other GME Events can be found on our calendar
Projects and Resources
- 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 it more useful. The GME Report a Concern form is a way for community members to report concerns to the GME Office (including the opportunity to report confidentially).
- 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.
- Resources for parents:
- New resource page containing useful activity search engines, tips and advice for Planning for Your Children’s Summer Activities!
- Registration is now open for UW Youth and Teen Programs. A variety of in-person and online enrichment courses are available for youth entering 4th through 12th grade. Classes begin June 27.
- Two upcoming parent and caregiver events hosted by UW Center for Child & Family Well-Being:
- UW Benefits has partnered with TIAA to bring a new resource for Public Student Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program! To get started, go to the TIAA/Savi webpage. It will take around 15 or 20 minutes to answer the questions and get results. The results will show the optimal repayment plan and estimated monthly savings, as well as whether the employee qualifies for a forgiveness plan, how much could be forgiven, and when. For more information about this service, please visit our Public Student Loan Forgiveness If you have any questions about this new service, please contact UW Benefits at 206-543-4444.
People
- Jennifer Best, associate dean, GME, is senior author of “Men and Women Pursue Nonlinear Career Paths, but Impacts Differ: a Cross-Sectional Study of Academic Hospitalists” in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
- Lee Bockus, fellow, Cardiology, is lead author and Michael Chen, associate professor is senior author of “Heart of Gold: A Scintillating Pericardial Effusion” in Circulation.
- The GME Office is excited to welcome Karyn Crow as our new GME Float Administrator. This is our second of two Float positions, and in this role Karyn’s primary responsibility will be to ensure continuity of key operations of UW GME residency and fellowship programs when a program administrator vacates the position or takes an extended leave from the program. Karyn joins GME from the Department of Surgery where she spent the last four years as program administrator for the Plastic Surgery residency program. Her first day in GME is April 4. If your department has current or anticipating upcoming coverage needs, please contact Gabrielle Pett at nathangl@uw.edu.
- Alyssa Castillo, fellow, Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is lead author and Chloe Bryson-Cahn, assistant professor, is senior author of “Rapid Molecular SARS-CoV-2 Testing in Hospital Employees with Mild Non-specific Respiratory Symptoms Facilitates Expedient Return to Work” in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.
- Madeleine Heldman, fellow, Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is lead author and Joshua Hill, assistant professor, is senior author of “Assessing and restoring adaptive immunity to HSV, VZV and HHV-6 in solid organ and hematopoietic cell transplant recipients” in Clinical Microbiology and Infection.
- Danelle Hidano, fellow, Cardiology, is lead author of “US Food and Drug Administration–Mandated Postmarketing Studies for High-risk Cardiovascular Devices Approved 2015-2019” in JAMA Internal Medicine.
- Danny Miller, resident, Pediatrics, co-authored “Curated variation benchmarks for challenging medically relevant autosomal genes” in Nature Biotechnology.
- Blake Murphy, resident, Vascular Surgery-Integrated, was selected to the Society for Vascular Surgery Patient Safety Organization Quality Fellowship in Training Program. This is a flagship program offered by The Society for Vascular Surgery Vascular Quality Initiative will focus on quality processes and data utilization among vascular surgery residents.
- Andreea Reilly, fellow, Hematology, is lead author, and Sergei Doulatov, associate professor, is senior author of “Lamin B1 deletion in myeloid neoplasms causes nuclear anomaly and altered hematopoietic stem cell function” in Cell Stem Cell.
- Internal Medicine Chief Residents Ryan Johnson, Oyinkansola Osobamiro, Anna Morenz, Nancy Mugisha, and Linda Liu are authors of “Chief Residency Selection in Internal Medicine: Who Is Left Out?”
by nathangl | Feb 25, 2022 | Announcements, Events, GME News & Notes, News
Dear GME Community,

Cindy Hamra Assistant Dean, GME
First, I want to express our concern and support for the members of our community with connections to Ukraine. If you can benefit from support, please look to UW Medicine Employee Mental Health Resources.
Today, Friday, February 25, is Thank a Resident Day, sponsored by the Gold Foundation! Please join the GME Office, and over 500 Institutions and programs in thanking our residents and fellows for their incredible mentorship, tireless hours of care, and for caring for patients with the deepest compassion!
As Black History Month comes to a close, I want to highlight blog posts by Dr. Daniel Cabrera on the work of the GME EDI Subcommittee and Dr. Joey Nelson, featuring a poem he recently published in the Family Medicine Journal.
We also want to say thank you – the GME Team enjoyed meeting many of you on February 3 at UWMC-ML. We handed out 75 lunches and about 300 antigen tests. Big thanks to our colleagues in UW Medicine Advancement and Faculty Affairs for the antigen tests. We also enjoyed meeting with our Boise-based residents and fellows on January 27 following the annual Academic Affiliations Partnership Council meeting with the Boise VA.
The February 2022 issue of GME News & Notes includes a reminder about the COVID booster requirement, resources for parents, and many, many awards and publications. As usual, if there’s anything you’d like to see included in next month’s News & Notes, please let me know.
February 2022 marks one year since the GME Office launched our DIO and News & Notes blogs. Our goal was to provide information to our community in a clear and consistent way. In the last year, we’ve had over 4000 unique views of blog posts, and Dr. Joyner’s April 2021 post regarding recruitment and match results has been the most read so far. Thank you for reading and sharing and please let me know if you have feedback on how to make this better.
Policies and Processes
- COVID booster requirement: All UW Medicine employees (except for those in non-clinical roles in the School of Medicine) are required to receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot or complete a declination process by Friday, March 4, 2022. If you haven’t received your booster, please go to the UW Medicine Employee Website for COVID-19 Vaccine Scheduling site to schedule your appointment.
- UW Medicine has updated the Policy on Professional Conduct
- 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 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. Details are available on the UW COVID-19 Employee Emergency Fund.
- GMEC has approved appointment of the following new program directors. ACGME approval is still required.
- Ginny Ryan, Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility
- Hannah Tully, Child Neurology
- Welcome new GME Program Administrators:
- Anthony Crookes, Clinical Neurophysiology, Epilepsy, Neuromuscular Medicine, and Vascular Neurology
- Margot DuBois, Surgical Critical Care
Events of Interest
- Join the Program Administrator Advisory Council (PAAC) from noon-1pm on Thursday, March 3 for an Onboarding Workshop to discuss onboarding requirements and timelines for the 2022-23 onboarding season.
- Registration for the Spring Program Director Development Series (PDDS) is now open. This season we are excited to be bringing you information about Interdisciplinary Teamwork in the Clinical Learning Environment and Harmonizing the Milestones. Sessions will be offered Tuesday, March 29 and Thursday, April 28. Please see the agenda for additional details on these important topics. All sessions will be held on Zoom. Visit the PDDS Registration page to register.
- A recording of the February GME Lunch & Learn on GME Finance and Funding is posted to the GME Lunch & Learn page. Please join us on Thursday, March 17 from noon-1:30 to discuss Annual Program Evaluations.
- Join the Friday yoga series with Zem Yoga Studio. Ease into your Fridays with this eight-week, Friday morning yoga series beginning February 18. Classes are instructed by Amity Neumeister, resident director of the UW Rome Center.
- Other GME Events can be found on our calendar
Projects and Resources
- 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 it more useful. The GME Report a Concern form is a way for community members to report concerns to the GME Office (including the opportunity to report confidentially).
- The GME Office is hiring a fourth Wellness Counselor! Please share with anyone who you think might be interested.
- 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.
- Check out these discounts for winter adventures from the WholeU.
- UW Medicine Office of Healthcare Equity Launches New Website: The new site includes information about the Healthcare Equity Blueprint, resources for employees, and information about OHCE programs.
- Access TurboTax for free or receive a discount through UW CareLink: Use TurboTax for free or save up to $15 on TurboTax products. Log into your CareLink account, go to “Finances,” “Tax” and click “Save on TurboTax” to find out more.
- Resources for parents:
- Looking for a nanny? Through Bright Horizons, UW employees receive discounted rates for nanny services from College Nannies and free background checks for care providers through Sittercity.
- Did you know that UW CareLink can research summer camps for your kids? UW CareLink’s family specialists will ask about your family’s needs and identify options to keep your child safe, engaged and growing all summer long. The service is confidential and no-cost.
- $0 co-pay for Bright Horizons in-center backup care: During March and April, Bright Horizons is waiving co-pays for all in-center backup care. Reserve your spot now.
- Child care openings for ages 3 to 5, available now at Harborview: Apply now for immediate child care availability at Harborview by submitting your application to the UW Children’s Center Harborview location.
People
- Ryan (Johnson) Abe, acting instructor and chief resident, Internal Medicine, is lead author, and Tyler Albert, assistant professor (General Internal Medicine) is senior author of “Chief Residency Selection in Internal Medicine: Who Is Left Out?” in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. DOM co-authors are Oyinkansola Osobamiro, Anna Morenz, Nancy Mugisha, and Linda Liu.
- Anne Browning, UW Medicine Assistant Dean for Wellbeing, is featured in this article about the UW Resilience Lab.
- Eric Chow, fellow, Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is lead author of “SARS-CoV-2 Infections in Children” in Infectious Disease Clinics of North America.
- Andre Dick, associate program director, Abdominal Transplant Surgery, has been appointed Seattle Children’s senior vice president (SVP) and surgeon-in-chief. Dr. Dick also had a presentation at the American College of Surgeons annual meeting October 2019 and a publication entitled, “Does the Funding Source Influence the Long-term Patient Survival in Pediatric Liver Transplantation” in Pediatric Transplantation, March 2021.
- The GME Office is thrilled to welcome Amanda Easton as Program Manager for Operations and Administration! In this newly created GME role, Amanda will help knit together the complex functions of the operations and administration team, providing program and project management. Amanda joins us from the Department of Radiology where she is has served as Education Manager for almost 2 years, responsible for administration of education programs including 100+ full time trainees and 200+ other individuals rotating through the 10+ training programs. Her first day with GME will be Monday March 14.
- Melissa (Moe) Hagman receives 2022 Laureate Award. Dr. Hagman, associate professor (General Internal Medicine) and program director for the Boise Internal Medicine Residency Program was selected for the 2022 Laureate Award by the Idaho American College of Physicians. The Laureate Award honors those Fellows and Masters of the College who have demonstrated by their example and conduct, an abiding commitment to excellence in medical care, education, or research and in service to their community, their Chapter, and the American College of Physicians. She was selected for her track record of hard work in supporting and role modelling in medical education, professionalism and academic leadership in the state of Idaho and nationally.
- Madeleine Heldman, fellow, is lead author and Joshua Hill, assistant professor, Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is senior author of “Assessing and restoring adaptive immunity to HSV, VZV and HHV-6 in solid organ and hematopoietic cell transplant recipients” in Clinical Microbiology and Infection.
- Aris Karatasakis, senior fellow, is lead author and Kelley Branch, professor, Cardiology, is senior author of “Prevalence and Patterns of Resuscitation-Associated Injury Detected by Head-to-Pelvis Computed Tomography After Successful Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Resuscitation” in the Journal of the American Heart Association. DOM co-authors are Linda Liu, Peter Kudenchuk, and David Carlbom.
- Michael Leu, program director, Clinical Informatics fellowship, is the new Chair of the American Medical Informatics Association Community of Informatics Program Directors.
- Michael Linenberger, program director, Hematology-Oncology fellowship, has been awarded the American Society for Apheresis Presidential Award for 2022. This is the apheresis society’s most prestigious annual award and is bestowed upon a member of the Society who has consistently made major contributions to, and performed outstanding service for the Society over a number of years.
- Tanya Meyer, program director, Otolaryngology – HNS, reports new findings on the benefits to work productivity of ongoing botulinum neurotoxin injections for those experiencing spasmodic dysphonia, a rare disorder that makes the voice sound strangled and hoarse. The findings will help many patients receive the treatment they need in order to be able to function at work, where communication is so critical. Read the full article in the UW Medicine Newsroom.
- Dr. Meyer is also working on Project West, a multi-institutional research project with Emory, Vanderbilt, and Michigan. Grace Wandell, resident, Otolaryngology – HNS, is serving as UW’s resident liaison. The project is a longitudinal perspective survey of surgical trainees from multiple fields including otolaryngology. It investigates work satisfaction, such as how certain workplace experiences relate to URM and gender status, and explores factors associated with well-being and burnout.
- Anisha Noble, R5, Otolaryngology – HNS, has been named the 2021 WIO Exemplary Senior Trainee. This award, from the Women in Otolaryngology section at AAO-HNS, “recognizes an outstanding female senior resident or fellow in an otolaryngology – head and neck surgery training program who demonstrates excellence in leadership, research, education, and mentoring.”
- Henry Ou, program director, Pediatric Otolaryngology fellowship, received a 2021 Family Choice Award from Seattle Children’s. This is the only award exclusively nominated by patients and their families and voted on by the Family Advisory Council. Oh created a Minecraft World of Seattle Children’s Hospital.
- The UW Medicine Office of Student Affairs joined with the career advising team to host its inaugural First-Generation advising session on November 9, 2021, the day after National First-Generation College Day. The AAMC defines first-generation students as those whose parents have not earned an associate’s degree or higher. The goal was to create a sense of community among all UW medical students from across the WWAMI region by acknowledging their paths to medical school, providing an opportunity to network, and providing holistic advising and support for students for successful progression through medical school. Ricky Pulido, resident, Otolaryngology – HNS and Jessica Pinto, resident, Internal Medicine, co-hosted the event.
- Vince Raikhel, acting instructor and chief resident for Quality and Safety at the VA Puget Sound and Kevin Blau, inpatient chief resident at the VA Puget Sound, are co-first authors, and Jeff Redinger, clinical assistant professor (General Internal Medicine), is senior author of “From Panic to Promise: Harnessing Medical Student Leadership in COVID-19” in the American Journal of Medicine.
- Tara Reid, fellow, Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has been awarded the Sexually Transmitted Infections Cooperative Research Centers (STI CRC) Developmental Research Project (DRP) award for her work in Syphilis vaccine strategies.
- Doug Wood, Chair, Department of Surgery, is featured in this article in the UW Newsroom regarding screening to prevent cancer deaths.
- David Yun and Matt Wolter, residents, Boise Internal Medicine residency program, won Best Clinical Vignette for their poster “A Seasonal Case of Encephalitis: Neuroinvasive West Nile” at the recent Northwest Chapter of the Society for General Internal Medicine conference.
- Two UW Otolaryngology – HNS residents have been awarded prestigious CORE grants from two of the member societies of the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery: ARS and AAO-HNSF.
- Eve Champaloux was awarded an ARS Resident Research Grant for her project, “Olfactory Stimulation of Dopaminergic Reward Pathways in the Rat Brain.”
- Allison Ikeda was awarded an AAO-HNSF Resident Research Grant for her project, “Decision Making Among Adults Considering Sleep Surgery.”
- The American College of Surgeons 2021 Clinical Congress “Resilience in the Pursuit of Excellence” was held virtually in October 2021. Department of Surgery faculty and residents were well represented at the event, notably participating in the following lectures and panels:
- Nina Clark, resident, was nominated for the 2021 Emergency Medicine Consultant of the Year Award. This award recognizes the exceptional work of those who assist in the care of patients within the Emergency Departments at the UWMC-ML and Harborview Medical Center.
- Lindsay Dickerson, resident, general surgery, was awarded a postdoctoral training fellowship from the Cancer Research Institute. This is a prestigious research fellowship that “furthers career development and supports laboratory research for promising young scientists working under the mentorship of leading immunologists.”
- David Droullard, resident, general surgery, “Assessing the Impact of Diverticulitis on Quality of Life Over Time
- Alex Lois, resident, general surgery, “The Use and Safety of POEM and Other Definitive Management Strategies for Achalasia”
- Amit Pujari, resident, vascular surgery, “How I Do It: Left Renal Vein Transposition”
- Joshua Rosen, resident, general surgery, “Treatment Risk Perceptions Vary Based on How Risk Information is Communicated” and “Unrealistic Optimism About Surgical Treatment Risk”
- Abra Shen, resident, plastic surgery, “Medical Student Program–Resident Panel: Transitioning into Residency”
- Denzel Woode, resident, general surgery, was awarded second prize for his presentation, “DEI in the Department of Surgery: Exploring Our Present and Building Our Future,” at the 2021 WA/OR ACS Annual Meeting
- Irene Zhang, resident, general surgery, “Perspectives on Opioid Minimization After Surgery and The Impact of Surgeon Messaging”
- Congratulations to members of the GME community nominated for the Together We Will Awards. Temporarily replacing the Distinguished Staff Awards, the Together We Will Awards were created to celebrate outstanding staff contributions made during extraordinary challenges. The nominees include:
- Gwen Credit, Associate Director, Family Medicine Residency Program
- Sonya Fukeda, Program Operations Specialist, School of Medicine Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Stephanie Timm, Education & Training Programs Manager, Dermatology
by nathangl | Feb 25, 2022 | News, Resident & Fellow Events
Dear Residents and Fellows,
Today is Thank a Resident Day, sponsored by the Gold Foundation.
On behalf of the entire GME Team, we want to expressly thank you for your care of our patients, and acknowledge how challenging the last 2+ years have been for you as healthcare professionals. We are conscious of the sacrifices you are making for your education and your patients. Our hope is to continue to find ways to support and partner with you in building a healthy work environment.
We have some small thank you gifts available at many of our training sites today. Please drop by if you are on site during business hours:
- UWMC-ML: Medical Director’s Office (AA-316)
- HMC: Medical Director’s Office (Room 1CT-97) **Office only open until 3:45pm**
- VA Puget Sound: Morning Report Room (Building 100, Room 4B-102)
- Seattle Children’s Hospital: GME Office (Ocean, Room 7.830)
**Thank you to Drs. Tom Staiger, Rick Goss, Vince Raikhel, Katherine Alberty, and Susan Marshall, and Kari Dietrich and Natalie Brady for your help!
Grateful for you today – and every day,
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 | 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 | 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 | 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.
by joewilso | Jun 8, 2021 | News, Resident & Fellow Events, Sticky
Welcome to our incoming Residents and Fellows!
We are looking forward to meeting you at the UW GME Orientation. Be sure to complete the GME Orientation Checklist prior to your Clinical start date, and tune into the LIVE UW GME Orientation on Monday June 22nd.
Please direct questions to the content experts listed in each section on the GME Orientation webpage. If you are unsure where to go or who to ask, please contact UW GME.
by nybrady | Apr 29, 2021 | Announcements, Events, PA Events, PD Events, Resident & Fellow Events
Please save the dates for upcoming 2021 – 2022 GME events! See PDF list, and be sure to check the Resident & Fellows and PDs & PAs event pages for the most up-to-date information.
If applicable, registration for events will open one month prior to the event date. Timely save the dates and registration reminders will continue to be released via email and the GME website.
We hope to see you at a GME event soon!
by nathangl | Feb 26, 2021 | Resident & Fellow Events
Residency and fellowship are like few other times in one’s life.
Particularly this year, we are mindful of the sacrifices you are making for your education, and your patients. We see all around us evidence of your excellent work. Our office takes very seriously the responsibility of working to build a healthy environment in which you can be your best.
On Thank A Resident Day, we wish to offer not only our extreme gratitude, but our strong ongoing commitment to improve our advocacy, communication, integration, support and care for each of you in this remarkable community.
Please look for a small thank you gift at each of our clinical sites, over the next several weeks
If you are at Harborview, please come say hello and pick up your gift this Friday, February 26.
- Location: 1CT-91
- Time: 12:00 – 4:00pm
It is our privilege to serve you – and to do it better and better each day.
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 nybrady | Feb 17, 2021 | Events, PA Events, PD Events
Registration is now open for GME’s Spring Program Director Development Series!
Content will be presented on TWO dates:
Tuesday March 30, 2021 OR Monday April 26, 2021
- Teaching Clinical Reasoning: Three Perspectives on How to Enhance Trainees’ Experiences: 9am – 11am
- Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Bootcamp: 1pm – 4pm
These sessions meet the ACGME requirements for annual faculty development in educator skills (II.B.2.g).(1)) and quality improvement and patient safety (II.B.2.g).(2)).
Where:
Zoom
See event agenda and register today!
by nybrady | Oct 28, 2020 | Events, PA Events, PD Events
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Quinn Capers, IV, MD, FACC
The GME Education Team held the first completely remote Program Director Development Series (PDDS) events on September 24th and October 19th of this year. We welcomed two tremendous speakers to this season’s PDDS, Dr. Quinn Capers from The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Dr. Jessica Bean from Change Spirals Outward, LLC.
Dr. Capers presented on Implicit Bias and Candidate Selection and provided a range of resources to mitigate implicit bias during file review and interviewing for residencies and fellowships. See the full recording of Dr. Capers’ presentation.
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Jessica Bean, ND, MS, CDWF
Dr. Bean covered the rarely discussed topics of Navigating Shame and Vulnerability in Medical Education. See the full recording of Dr. Bean’s presentation and explore the many resources provided to learn how to support yourself and your residents or fellows through vulnerability, guilt and shame.
We look forward to the Spring PDDS sessions focused on Teaching Clinical Reasoning and a Quality Improvement Bootcamp. Registration for the 3/30/2021 and 4/26/2021 events will open in December.
by nathangl | Oct 12, 2020 | Announcements, Events, News
It is m
y pleasure as acting meeting chair, to provide the October 2020 GMEC Update for our community.
People
- Congratulations to Dr. Debra Cherry on her $175K SHIP grant from the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries for projects to improve reproductive health for Washington workers
- Congratulations to our newly approved Program Directors:
- Dr. Kathleen Kieran (Pediatric Urology – 1 year interim)
- Dr. Sarah Prager (Complex Family Planning)
Programs
- Complex Family Planning, previously a non-ACGME fellowship program, is applying for ACGME accreditation (see PD approval above).
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. They will begin to write the charter for approval by the GMEC next month.
- GMEC approved a charter for a newly formed GMEC Clinical Learning Environment Review (CLER) Subcommittee to better integrate, elevate and support accountability for efforts to enhance the CLER focus area: Patient Safety, Health Care Quality (including Disparities), Teaming and Supervision. Though outside of the current charter, Well-Being and Professionalism efforts, also included in the CLER program, are actively ongoing.
Partnerships
- Dr. John Scott presented an update on Telemedicine programs across UW Medicine.
Projects
- Please see the GME website for information on a slew of upcoming events including:
- “Family Planning and Fertility and Navigating Parental Leave for Resident Physicians” (10/7)
- Dr. Bill McDade, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer for the ACGME will be a GMEC-sponsored virtual Visiting Professor (10/8, 3:00-5:00pm).
- The second NURF Diversity Recruitment Open House (10/12).
- Program Director Development Series – Fall Curriculum: Implicit Bias in Candidate Selection and Navigating Vulnerability and Shame in Medical Education) (10/19)
Jennifer Best, MD
Associate Dean, Accreditation and Education
Graduate Medical Education, UW Medicine
by nathangl | Sep 30, 2020 | Announcements, Resident & Fellow Events
Join u
s for the second UW Network for Underrepresented Residents and Fellows (NURF) Diversity Recruitment Open House as part of NURF’s outreach efforts this recruitment season. This virtual Open House is intended to answer questions from residency and fellowship program applicants from underrepresented and/or disadvantaged backgrounds who are currently applying to our programs at the University of Washington.
The meeting will open with brief presentations by leadership from NURF, the GME Office and the UW Medicine Office of Healthcare Equity. You will be able to join break-out groups for the majority of the Zoom session, giving you a chance to ask questions about navigating the city, training programs, and hospitals.
When:
Date: Monday, October 12, 2020
Time: 6:30 – 8:00 PM (PST)
Where:
Zoom
Questions or comments? Email Nora Coronado at ncorona@uw.edu.
by nybrady | Sep 16, 2020 | Events, Resident & Fellow Events
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Physician Panel
On Saturday September 12th the GME Office hosted our annual Life After Residency & Fellowship Seminar. This event is focused on equipping residents and fellows with knowledge around determining their career path after graduation.
Speakers interacted with attendees over Zoom and covered the tips for your job search, Negotiation 101 and employment contracts. A robust panel of physicians in a variety of fields discussed their lessons learned on topics covering everything from negotiating protected time to entering the tech field.
The event recording and many resources are available for review.
Thank you to our presenters and attendees! Keep an eye out for other upcoming Resident and Fellow focused events.
by nybrady | Sep 3, 2020 | Events, Resident & Fellow Events
Registration is now open!
This event is intended to answer questions and educate GME trainees about the various considerations to take into account when planning for your ideal family. Speakers will cover defining your future family goals, how fertility changes with age, options for delaying fertility or addressing infertility and how to navigate parental leave. A panel and breakout rooms by topic will be available to answer audience questions.
Event will be recorded and available to stream after the event.
When:
Wednesday October 7th, 2020
6:00pm – 7:45pm
Where:
Zoom
See event agenda and register today!
by nybrady | Jul 29, 2020 | Events, Resident & Fellow Events
Registration is now open for GME’s Life After Residency & Fellowship event!
Join the GME Office to learn more about the job search, negotiating salary and benefits, and reviewing your employment contract. Attendance at this event is mandatory for some programs and others will block time for you to attend. Please check with your PA for details. The event will be recorded and available to stream after the event.
When:
Saturday September 12th, 2020
9am – 1pm
Where:
Zoom
See event agenda and register today!
by nybrady | Jul 13, 2020 | Events, PA Events, PD Events
Registration is now open for GME’s Fall Program Director Development Series!
Content will be presented on TWO dates:
Thursday September, 24th, 2020 OR Monday October 19th, 2020
Morning Session: 8am – 10am, Afternoon Session 1pm – 3:30pm
Where:
Zoom
See event agenda and register today!
by nybrady | Jun 16, 2020 | News, Resident & Fellow Events
Welcome to our incoming Residents and Fellows!
We are looking forward to meeting you at the UW GME Orientation. Be sure to complete the GME Orientation Checklist prior to your Clinical start date, and tune into the LIVE UW GME Orientation on Monday June 22nd.
Please direct questions to the content experts listed in each section on the GME Orientation webpage. If you are unsure where to go or who to ask, please contact
UW GME.
by nybrady | Apr 15, 2020 | Events, Resident & Fellow Events
Incoming Chief Residents & Fellows, save the date! On Wednesday May 27th 5:30-8:15pm we’ll host our Chief Resident & Fellow Seminar to share tips and tricks for teaching, getting things done, providing feedback and supporting your colleagues’ well-being.
Registration is now open! See full event details.
This event can be attended online by all incoming chief residents & fellows.
Contact Natalie Brady at nybrady@uw.edu with any questions.
by nybrady | Apr 6, 2020 | Announcements, Events, PA Events, PD Events, Resident & Fellow Events
Mark your calendars! The GME office is excited to release our 2020-2021 event calendar! See the full list of upcoming events for Residents & Fellows as well as PDs & PAs.
Event dates and topics have been added to the website calendar. Registration for events will open one month prior to the event date. Timely save the dates and registration reminders will continue to be released via email and the GME website.
We hope you can join us at many of our exciting 2021 offerings!
by nybrady | Feb 7, 2020 | Events, Resident & Fellow Events
On Wednesday February 5th the GME Office welcomed Doug Stucki from Fidelity to share tips for Personal Savings with our residents and fellows. Doug shared knowledge gathered over his two decades worth of experience working with clients on retirement planning and investing.
A small sample of the tips Doug included are below. View the full event recording on the Resident & Fellow Seminars page.
- Always have an emergency fund. Don’t have one? Start putting money aside (in a separate account!) with your next paycheck.
- Start saving for retirement as early as you can. The power of compounding interest will turn even the smallest deposits into large savings given enough time.
- Pay off your debt with the highest interest rate first. Are you juggling school loans from a multiple sources? Always tackle your debt with highest interest rate first, once that is paid off move onto the second highest interest rate, etc.
- Home mortgages should cost no more than 28% of your gross income. Looking at a pricier home? You may be overextending yourself and impacting your ability to contribute to essential expenses, emergency savings and your retirement accounts.
- Consider your credit score before cleaning out your ‘old’ accounts. Your credit score is calculated based on a variety of factors one of which is credit age. Have an old credit card from when you were 18 that you don’t use anymore and are thinking about closing? Consider keeping the account open (ensure you pay the balance in full each month) to maximize your credit age.
Want to learn more? Learn all of Doug’s tips by watching the event recording.
Have additional questions? All UW employees can schedule a 1:1 meeting with a Fidelity representative. Meetings are available at Harborview, UWMC, SLU and the UW Campus. Book a meeting today.
by nybrady | Feb 4, 2020 | Events, Resident & Fellow Events, Wellness
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NOTE: This event is being rescheduled. New date and details to be determined.
Registration is now open for GME’s Parents event!
This event is open to all GME Parents and their families in addition to mentees and mentors from the Parenthood Peer Mentorship Program and their families.
When:
Saturday March 14th, 2020
9am – 11am: reserved for PPMP mentees, mentors and their families
11am – 1pm: open to all GME parents and their families
Details:
Light refreshments provided
Free street parking
by nybrady | Feb 3, 2020 | Events, PA Events, PD Events
Registration is now open for GME’s Spring Program Director Development Series!
NOTE: The both Spring PDDS dates have been cancelled.
TWO Options for attending:
Wednesday March 25, 2020 OR Friday April 24, 2020
9:00am – 4:00pm
Where:
UW Medicine South Lake Union
Details:
Free breakfast, lunch, and parking validations provided.
In person attendance only – limited space available
Registration for the March 25th event closes on March 18th. Registration for the April 24th, PDDS will reopen on March 26th.
PDDS is our core curriculum for program directors and faculty in support of continuous learning, development and educational innovation within UW GME. The curriculum is designed to meet ACGME annual faculty development and Common Program Requirements (CPRs).
Program directors, associate program directors, key faculty and program administrators (as space allows) are invited to join us at PDDS events.*
* Each curriculum will be run twice in the Fall and twice in the Spring. All ACGME training programs are required to send a core faculty representative (ideally the program director or associate program director).
by nybrady | Jan 21, 2020 | Events, Resident & Fellow Events, Wellness
Registration is now open for the 9th Annual Theo’s Chocolate Tour on February 22nd!
This event is open to ONLY residents/fellows and a +1 (adults only). We have space for only 24 people – once you register we will confirm if you have a spot or are on the waitlist. If you’ve taken this tour with GME before please do not register again.
When:
Saturday February 22nd, 2020
2:00pm – 3:30pm
Details:
Cost – FREE
Free street parking available
Open to residents/fellows and a +1 (adults only)
by nybrady | Jan 15, 2020 | Announcements, Events, Resident & Fellow Events
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NOTE: This event is being rescheduled. New date and details to be determined.
Please save the date for Saturday March 14, 2020!
GME is excited to host our first annual Parenthood Peer Mentorship Program (PPMP) social event and combination GME Parents Wellness event.
The first two hours of the morning will be reserved for PPMP mentees, mentors and their families. At 11am the event will open to all GME parents and their families.
by nybrady | Jan 6, 2020 | Announcements, Events, Resident & Fellow Events
Register now for the GME Financial Management Seminar – Introduction to Personal Savings
Join GME on February 5th, 2020 to learn from Fidelity Investments retirement planner Doug Stucki. Doug will be sharing information about budgeting, debt management and recommended saving rates. A Q&A session will follow the event.
This event is open to GME residents, fellows and their guests. Registration is open until January 28th!
by nybrady | Jan 2, 2020 | Announcements, Events, PA Events
Save the date for our Annual AY21 Appointments and Credentialing Meeting on Tuesday February 4th!
This meeting is highly recommended for all program administrators and any staff involved in the appointment process of new trainees, including those who are not PAs but have roles in Workday.
When:
Tuesday February 4th, 2020
8:30am – 12:00pm (Breakfast and Check-In open at 8:00am)
Where:
UW South Lake Union
Details:
Light breakfast and coffee provided
No registration required