Second Annual Program Directors' Retreat
The second annual GME Program Director Retreat was held on May 18, 2018 at the Partners Assembly Row Conference Center with eighty residency and fellowship program director participants. The day-long retreat addressed approaches to creating well-being programs, how to deliver a curriculum in quality improvement, competency-based education, national accreditation requirements, and using data to optimize GME outcomes.
The event was organized and moderated by Dr. Lori Berkowitz, Associate Director of GME, who welcomed the group. Dr. Deb Weinstein introduced this years’ Partners Medical Education Visiting Professor, Marc Triola, M.D., who served as the Keynote Speaker. Dr. Triola is the Associate Dean for Educational Informatics and Founding Director of the Institution for Innovations in Medical Education at New York University (NYU) School of Medicine. His presentation, “Using Public Data to Follow Graduates into Practice,” provided an overview of how publicly accessible data can be used to follow graduates into practice. Practical examples highlighted how data on UME or GME graduates can have implications for educational program planning. The potential utility of linking ACGME milestone data to these post-graduation measures was also discussed.
Dr. John Co, Partners GME Director, provided an update on recent developments in Graduate Medical Education and their implications.
This year’s retreat provided more time for small group breakout sessions in order to maximize interaction between participants across specialties and institutions. Topics and presenters were:
- Giving Grades in Residency (George Dyer, MD, Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Surgery)
- Making Use of Milestones – Practical Inputs and Outputs (Steve Black-Schaffer, MD, MGH Pathology)
- Lessons Learned and Suggestions for New PDs (Glenn Gaviola, MD, BWH Radiology)
- Recruitment of Residents – Advice to Program Directors (Theresa McLoud, MD, MGH Radiology and John Mullen, MD, MGH General Surgery)
- Tips for Implementing Meaningful Quality Improvement Curricula while Improving Patient Care (John Co, MD, MPH, Partners GME, Doug Smink, MD, MPH, BWH General Surgery, and Ron Bleday, MD, BWH Colorectal Surgery)
- Self-Study Process (Diane Sheehan, Partners GME, Anthony Zietman, MD, Harvard Radiation Oncology and Ruth Tuomala, MD, BWH/MGH Obstetrics & Gynecology)
- Laurence Katznelson, MD, Associate Dean for GME, Stanford, led an afternoon plenary entitled “The Stanford Approach to Resident Wellness: Some success, but much farther to go.” This generated considerable discussion about shared aspirations and challenges, as programs rally in response to the national call to enhance trainee wellness.
- Dr. Debra Weinstein, Partners Vice President for Education, concluded the retreat with a “Town Hall” forum, covering a variety of topics, including some – such as vacation and parental leave – closely related to wellness.
Workshop evaluations were quite positive, and the expanded break-out time and opportunity to hear from invited guest speakers were particularly appreciated. Many participants commented that the retreat was invaluable both for content and for networking.
Planning for next year has already begun; please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Berkowitz at lberkowitz@mgh.harvard.edu with any comments or suggestions.
Laurence Katznelson, MD, Associate Dean of GME, Stanford, leads an afternoon plenary dedicated to resident wellness.
Drs. Teresa McLoud (MGH Radiology) and John Mullen (MGH General Surgery) teamed up to speak about challenges of resident recruitment.
Arianne Baker, MD, Pediatric Resident at MGH, discusses her poster during the CPIP Projects Poster Session.
Self Study Breakout Session
John Co, MD, MPH, discusses updates in Graduate Medical Education