For Residents

Get the facts about new disability insurance program

A unique individual disability income insurance program offered through the AMA Insurance Agency's Physicians Financial Partners program has created quite a buzz with finishing residents and fellows.

In fact, many residents have expressed concern that the program, known as Essentials and available exclusively to eligible finishing residents and fellows, appears too good to be true. And since insurance professionals approved as Physicians Financial Partners are exclusively authorized to promote the program, some local agents aren't familiar with how it works.

Get the facts about this program by reviewing a list of top questions that residents asked about it. The program provides physician-focused benefits such as:

• Coverage you own and can take with you wherever your career takes you.
• A "Your Occupation" definition of disability, which means you're covered if you're unable to practice in your specialty—even if you're able to work in another occupation.
• Non-cancelable coverage so you can lock in rates at younger ages.

Open enrollment to apply for disability insurance coverage through Essentials runs through June 15.

The individual disability income coverage is issued by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife). The program utilizes a simplified application process with just a few basic questions and no intrusive or time-consuming medical exams, yet still offers lower rates than typical MetLife fully underwritten policies.

Tablet-based conferences enhance residents' learning

Tablet-based conference mirroring is giving residents an up-close and personal look at images and making radiology case conferences a more interactive learning experience, a new study shows.

Residents at Northwestern University in Chicago are using tablets and a free screen sharing software during case conferences to see and manipulate the images that are being presented. Implemented at Northwestern since 2011, the tablets allow residents to manipulate images on a large presentation screen and search the Internet during case conferences.

More than 75 percent of the residents who participated in the study agreed that the new learning format enhanced their learning experience. Learn more in a news release about the study.

The study appeared in a supplement to the May 2012 edition of the American Journal of Roentgenology. To view an abstract of the study, visit the journal's website and scroll to "027. Advantages of Tablet-Based Conference Mirroring: Enhancing Learning Through Interactivity in Conferences."

ACGME: Big changes coming to accreditation system

A new outcomes-based evaluation system will soon measure the doctors of tomorrow on their competency in performing the essential tasks necessary for clinical practice, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) announced recently.

The ACGME summarized this major shift in how the nation's residency programs will be accredited in a paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Under the ACGME's next accreditation system:

• Medical residents and fellows will need to demonstrate competency in six core areas: patient care, medical knowledge, practice-based learning and improvement, systems-based practice, professionalism, and interpersonal skills and communication.
• Teaching institutions will be required to develop and publish the specific learning outcomes residents must demonstrate as they progress through training.
• Institutions will be required to submit reports to the ACGME every six months that document each resident's accomplishments in meeting benchmarks for physician competence.
• The ACGME will update the accreditation status of each program yearly based on trends in key performance parameters.

The new system is expected to be implemented by 2014.