Graduate Medical Education

Defining scholarly activity in residency remains elusive

Though required by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) for all specialties, defining scholarly activity such that it is relevant to GME remains an elusive task.

There is currently no uniform definition used by all Residency Review Committees (RRCs), and only six of the 27 RRCs have a rubric to evaluate scholarly activity. Meanwhile, citations for scholarly activity remain high—403, or 6.5 percent of all citations last year alone.

The authors of an article in the December issue of the Journal of Graduate Medical Education propose a rubric to enable a more objective evaluation of all residency programs.

Regulators should address gaps in med ed continuum

A recent commentary in the Journal of Medical Regulation, published by the Federation of State Medical Boards, calls on the nation's medical regulators to provide input and advocacy to correct shortcomings across the medical education continuum.

The commentary's author, Blake T. Maresh, MPA, CMBE, executive director of
the Washington Board of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery, calls particular attention to the following issues:

• The affordability and accessibility of undergraduate medical education.
• Undue influence by industry in our educational system.
• The need for a greater emphasis on ethical training and professionalism.
• Variability in medical testing standards and medical residency requirements.
• Gaps in the effectiveness of continuing education—so-called "lifelong learning"—for professionals.

Milestones released for internal medicine residency program performance reviews

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) have released 22 milestones for IM residency programs to use when reviewing resident performance.

As described in a recent Annals of Internal Medicine article on the project, milestones "are observable developmental steps that describe progression from a beginning learner to the expected level of proficiency at the completion of training. Accordingly, predefined milestones can be used to assess and document a trainee's developmental progression toward competence."

Join audio conference on the Next Accreditation System

"Annual Program Evaluation: Theory, Practice, and Implications for the NAS," an audio conference hosted by the Association for Hospital Medical Education, is set for 1 p.m. Eastern on March 5. Presenters are John P. Lawrence, MD, MEd, program director of anesthesiology and vice chair of the GMEC, University of Cincinnati; and Amy Bunger, PhD, chair, Curriculum & Assessment Committee, University of Cincinnati. Register now.

Also, plan to attend the 2013 AHME Institute, May 15-17 in Las Vegas.

News and notes

• Reforming GME to train more primary care physicians will require enforcement: AAFP News Now
• Study: Fear of "July Effect" may be exaggerated: The New York Times Well blog
• Fewer trainees choosing geriatrics, numbers show: AMA Wire
• AMA physician workforce paper presents issues facing IMGs: AMA Wire
• Medicare Payments for Graduate Medical Education: What Every Medical Student, Resident and Advisor Needs to Know: Association of American Medical Colleges
• Exposure to conflict-of-interest policies during residency reduces rate of brand antidepressant prescriptions: Medical Care

AMA resources for residency programs and trainees

• Help your residents master the ACGME general competency requirements.
• Learn about the AMA Resident and Fellow Section.
• Learn about the AMA Council on Medical Education.
• View an archive version of our webinar on ways to expand and improve GME.
• Check out our recommendations on strategies to expand funding of GME.
• Get trend data on undergraduate and graduate medical education.
• Learn more about patient safety in medical education.
• Get updated information on medical licensure.
• Obtain state-by-state GME data.

• Follow the AMA medical education and professional ethics Twitter pages.
• Read the latest issue of American Medical News.