Report to ARCOS Membership

[Artina Dawkins]

Dear Colleagues –

Please accept this communication as formal notification that, as of December 5, 2022, I can no longer remain in the position of President of ARCOS as my current job has been reclassified to one that is outside of the management of graduate medical education programs.

While this decision was very disappointing, I must align with the ARCOS Bylaws and Policies & Procedures documents. Both documents state that a board member must be a coordinator working in the day-to-day operation of a residency and/or fellowship program.

It has been my pleasure to serve on the Board as a member-at-large for 2018-2019, as President-Elect for 2019 – 2022, and as current President (March 2022 – Present).

During my tenure on the board, it has been my intent to empower the members of ARCOS by encouraging you to recognize the knowledge that you have acquired, the value that this knowledge brings to your peers and respective programs, and to emphasize the leadership role that you have in graduate medical education. I am grateful for our accomplishments as an organization over the tenure of my membership in ARCOS, including:

• At the 2018 Annual ARCOS meeting, in my presentation entitled, GME Coordinator Mentorship Programs, I was able to share details about my journey in founding a coordinator mentorship program within the coordinator’s group at my institution. Over sixty GME programs were represented in the group. The intent of the mentor program was to fill a knowledge gap by creating a mechanism to provide support and opportunities for coordinators to learn about various aspects of GME program management.

• Building on the presentation given by Beth Payne entitled, ‘Professional development: Academic posters driven by program coordinators and administrators,’ I designed the annual ARCOS meeting poster session as a way for coordinators to take a scholarly approach to sharing their knowledge. The addition of the poster session was a way to capture the creative, innovative, and practical ideas that coordinators often generate in the management of their respective programs. Coordinators, regardless of title, consistently contribute to the quality of their respective GME programs.

• The Roundtable discussions have been one of the most impactful aspects of our annual meetings. As a new member of ARCOS, I recall learning about the coordinator role as well as the lasting connections made with colleagues during the roundtable discussions. When the opportunity to moderate this session at the 2018 and 2019 meetings was presented, I aimed to continue the ARCOS tradition of quality dialogue by ensuring that the discussions contained the same relevant topics and opportunity for connection that I experienced years prior as a new member. It was also important to create opportunities for ARCOS members to become table facilitators – augmenting peer-to-peer sharing of expertise, networking, and professional development.

• During our September Board meeting, the ARCOS board outlined the 2022 – 2024 Strategic Plan, creating a ‘road map’ for our organization – see below:

Mission:
ARCOS is a national, independent, professional organization established by and composed of orthopaedic surgery residency and fellowship coordinators, to provide an educational resource and an interactive platform for the exchange of ideas to enhance education and to meet ongoing requirements established for orthopaedic surgery residency and fellowship training programs.

Vision:
To promote and support coordinators as leaders.

Values:
Professionalism
Compassion and support
Fostering Diversity Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
Networking

Organizational Goals:

Goal 1: To advocate for excellence in program coordinator professional development
Goal 2: To continue to welcome and engage membership

It has been an honor to serve on the board of ARCOS and to be a part of this great organization! I have appreciated the conversations, encouraging words, the exchange of information/ideas, and being a part of a group of emerging leaders.

I wish each of you the absolute best and Happy Holidays!

Regards,

Artina

[Kathleen Derrig]

Hi Artina,

Best of luck with your new position.

Kathy Derrig

Henry Ford Hospital, Orthopaedic Surgery

 

 

[Donna Lizut]

Artina:

I wish you the best in your future endeavors. You were always so kind and helpful to me.

– Donna 🙂

 

[Starla Pathak]

Artina –

Wishing you the very best as you continue on your journey.  Happy Holidays to you and your family.

Starla Pathak
Manager, Educational Programs
Tufts Orthopaedics

 

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