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  • in reply to: VSLO & Ortho #8779
    Laurie Lynch
    Keymaster

    Hi Katrina! Good luck on your next adventure!

    There was some discussion, including at the CORD meeting. Right now, the medical student universal offer days are very aspirational. A lot of institutions have medical school calendars, application systems, and requirements that are not conducive to implementing the universal offer days. For the time being, these are suggestions that individual programs may implement if their systems allow.

    Laurie

    in reply to: Chief Resident Status #8718
    Laurie Lynch
    Keymaster

    Good morning,

    All three of our PGY5 residents are chiefs, and they do take on extra administrative responsibilities. Additional pay was a hot topic during the collective bargaining agreement discussions here. The primary care chief residents in 3-year programs were getting the next level year pay for taking on administrative tasks, but our PGY5 chief residents were not getting anything beyond the normal PGY5 pay. In the new union contract, there is now an extra pay level for PGY-5 residents who take on chief duties.

    It is our choice to have all three as chiefs. The larger programs here, particularly primary care, choose 1 or 2 chief residents. Sometimes by resident vote, and sometimes by faculty appointment.

    in reply to: Interview Follow Up #8710
    Laurie Lynch
    Keymaster

    Hi Helen!

    Our institution purchased the licenses at a group rate for any of the residencies who were interested in using the app. Then each residency could build their own content that reflected the needs of their specialty and applicants, and the activities they had planned for interviews and social events.

    If you are in Jacksonville next week, I’m happy to connect and show you what our app looks like!

    Laurie

    in reply to: Interview Follow Up #8708
    Laurie Lynch
    Keymaster

    Hi Shawna!

    We don’t send an evaluation post-interview on the recommendation of our DIO because of the NRMP restrictions on post interview communication. We do send an evaluation post-match. Routinely we ask what they feel is the best feature of our program, and what we could improve on. Other questions vary depending on what changes we made for the interview year. For example, during virtual years, we asked about the resources they could find on our website and during our virtual open house sessions. The year we introduced our app for recruiting information, we asked questions about their engagement with that technology – ease of use, instructions to access, content.

    We use Google Forms for anonymity and I send an email to each applicant with the Forms link so they can complete the survey on their phone or laptop.

    in reply to: VSLO & Ortho #8664
    Laurie Lynch
    Keymaster

    Hi David,

    I agree, it must be very confusing for the students. Here at WMed, we have a VSLO coordinator through the medical school. They align the student rotations with the residency block calendar, but the medical school determines when the VSLO system opens and when the first rotation will be accepted. Individual programs can decide which block will be the last to host students. This year, our catalog opens on 3/2, we begin accepting applications on 3/16 with the VSLO coordinator reviewing all applications as they are submitted. Then programs can begin responding to accept applications on 3/30. We used to hold Blocks 12 and 13 (May and June) for home students, but our home students are starting their ortho elective rotations in March this year. Even with that change, WMed has decided we will not open May for visiting students.

    Happy to discuss in more detail if that’s helpful!

    Laurie Lynch

    Residency Program Coordinator

    laurie.lynch@wmed.edu

    in reply to: Research project spreadsheet #8609
    Laurie Lynch
    Keymaster

    Hi Maggie!

    I have a spreadsheet for each resident’s research activity that I maintain with their CCC information. I request updates from each of them before the CCC meetings in the fall and spring. I record title/topic, authors, and status. I keep a running list of all the status reports up until the project is either discontinued, presented or published. This also gives me all of their research activity when they check out at graduation and we have to report all their research activity during their residency.

    Laurie

    in reply to: Post Interview Survey #8566
    Laurie Lynch
    Keymaster

    Hi Kelly!

    We suspended our post-interview survey at the mandate of our GME office. They felt it violated the NRMP rules restricting post-interview communication with applicants – “Programs are not allowed to solicit information or imply a response is required for communication between the interview and the match day.” We used to interview our visiting students at the end of their rotation, and our GME office required that we discontinue that as well, since we interview all of our visiting students too.

    We switched to a post-match survey. We send this to the applicants who don’t match with us, down to the last person before our last matched person in our rank list. So each year that varies depending on how far down our rank list we go.

    We only ask a few questions – “What do you feel is the best feature of our residency program?” “What do you feel we could improve on?” “I did not choose WMed for orthopaedic surgery residency training because . . . ” and a final comment box, “any additional thoughts or comments”

    I send each applicant an email with a link to the survey in Google Forms to keep their responses anonymous.

    Laurie

    in reply to: GMEC Question #8520
    Laurie Lynch
    Keymaster

    Hi Anna!

    We are required to include a copy of our annual PEC minutes with our annual report to our institution’s GME Committee.

    Laurie

    in reply to: Step 3 Study Material Reimbursements #8497
    Laurie Lynch
    Keymaster

    Hi Chausa,

    Historically, our program has provided $500 to our PGY-1 residents in professional development funds during their first year. They could use those funds for Step 3 study materials (like UWorld or CCS). Residents also had the option to apply for a Step 3 loan to help them pay for the exam expense which was then paid back through salary deduction.

    This year we are under a union contract. The collective bargaining agreement established that the residents receive their professional development funds for all 5 years in one lump sum at the beginning of their career to use for applicable expenses, such as Step 3 exam fees or study materials. The IRS does require our institution to withhold taxes from the Step 3 exam fee reimbursement.

    Hope this helps!

    Laurie

     

     

    in reply to: Supplemental Applications #8484
    Laurie Lynch
    Keymaster

    Hi Kim!

    We did not ask for supplementals this year, but we did for the past 5 years. We gave applicants the ERAS opening date as the due date. But we did not penalize applicants who submitted late. It usually was just 10-15 applicants. We did not contact any applicants we were interested in to prompt them to submit a supplemental.

    Happy Recruiting Season!

    Laurie

    in reply to: 13 Blocks for PGY 1 Residents #6795
    Laurie Lynch
    Keymaster

    Rebecca, to clarify we checked with ABOS when we switched from 12 months to 13 blocks, and they told us to just drop a block from reporting. We didn’t make it up on our own!

    Laurie

    in reply to: 13 Blocks for PGY 1 Residents #6793
    Laurie Lynch
    Keymaster

    Hi Rebecca,

    We switched to 4-week, 13-block rotations about 10 years ago. Because ABOS asks for 12 months, we had to report 12 blocks and just drop one from reporting. Pre-COVID, we dropped our radiology since it was a the subject group where we already met our 3 required rotations. After COVID when our radiologists continued working from home and were unavailable to teach, we replaced that rotation with a formalized research rotation. Reseach is now the block we don’t report for ABOS.

    I’ve attached our schedule for this year, let me know if you have questions!

    Laurie

     

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    in reply to: Program covered expenses #6484
    Laurie Lynch
    Keymaster

    Hi Shawna,

    Our program pays for loupes for our incoming class. We pay for 2.5x standard field loupes, which usually are about $1200 each. We don’t pay for headlights or any additional features.

    Laurie

    in reply to: Surgery Prelim candidate #6398
    Laurie Lynch
    Keymaster

    Hi Maggie,

    When I was hired, I inherited a surgery prelim who my program accepted as a PGY-2. He must have had 6 orthopaedic surgery rotations in his preliminary year to meet the ABOS requirements. Throughout the rest of his residency, he completed non-orthopaedic rotations in each year that he missed as a prelim – anesthesia as a PGY2, trauma surgery as a PGY3, neurosurgery as a PGY4. This was all discussed and approved by the ABOS as an appropriate make-up curriculum.

    Our other surgery prelim joined us in January of their prelim year. Coming in they had a good number of rotations that met the ABOS requirements for non-orthopaedic rotations, as well as several orthopaedic rotations their prelim curriculum had made possible for them. We were able to adjust the latter part of the year to fill the gaps and they started their PGY2 year on schedule.

    I would suggest getting a copy of their current prelim curriculum to see what matches up with ABOS requirements, discuss as soon as possible with Sonya at ABOS for what they will accept, and negotiate a make-up schedule if there are gaps.

    Good luck!

    Laurie

    in reply to: Time Away for Fellowship Interviews #6373
    Laurie Lynch
    Keymaster

    Hi Jennifer!

    For our time off requests, we just started using Microsoft Forms this year with a link for the residents to submit their requests online. I am able to download spreadsheets to keep a record of requests.

    Our institution has software we are required to use to track PTO, preferred holiday, sick time and conference time. They do not include fellowship interview time in that software system. For fellowship time off tracking, I’m still old school at the moment – calendar pages that I note the days they request, whether they are using an interview day, a travel day, PTO or conference time if they have exceeded their fellowship time allowance. Their days away are also included on the master calendar for all resident absences that is posted on our department app.

    Laurie

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 58 total)