AODME By-laws changes...

As the members of the AODME know, an update to the organization's by-laws are now out to the membership for a vote.  This is the culmination of a two year process that is aimed at aligning the by-laws of the AODME with the realities that currently exist in OGME.

The key changes are:

1. The executive committee terms move from two to one year and the position of immediate past president is added.  This reflects a desire to have more members be involved in the executive leadership of the organization.  Currently, there are 5 positions (Secretary, Treasurer, President-elect, President and Past-president) with two year terms.  This limits the elections to odd numbered years and results in 10 years on the executive committee.  The change would have a 6 member executive committee with yearly elections and 6 years on the committee.  The addition of immediate past president (or past president depending on one's perspective) was sought to lend institutional memory to the board.
2. Removal of 4 sub-category (OPTI, COM, Specialty College and Hospital) trustees.  These positions have been difficult to define since their inception and do not serve a constituency.
3. The addition of OPTI Council Appointed Trustees.  As has been noted at the last several meetings, the AODME, the AODME is seeking to work with OPTIs and the DMEs that comprise OPTIs to provide a advocacy and educational voice for this significant cog in the OGME machine.  This change recognizes that DMEs are aligned as much with OPTIs as they are with regions and allows for a blend of leadership.  OPTI Council Appointed Trustees must maintain the same membership requirements as regional trustees.
4. Changes to terms of of trustees from three to two years.  The overall limit would remain 6 years.  This change also allows more members to have the opportunity to be members of the board.
5. Re-distribution of the AODME's regions to represent the current make-up of OGME.
6. Codification of governance items such as quorums, committees and special meetings.  In each case, the bar was set to allow inclusion and representative participation.

Many members worked hard to bring this to fruition.  This includes both members of the executive committee, board and rank and file members from all regions and backgrounds.  This process began in 2009 and there have been multiple avenues for comment and evolution.  This includes, but is not limited to:

• Both the 2010 and 2011 Annual meetings
• Email appeals in the Fall of 2010 and 2011
• Multiple surveys of membership

I set a goal to move the organization forward.  I do not expect all to agree on what this means.  I do expect to be transparent and build consensus.  I am comfortable that we have accomplished both with these proposed changes.

Part of this goal is a up or down vote on the by-laws change.  It is time to fish or cut bait.  While no proposal will be perfect, this is a good, team approach.  Regardless of your view, it is important to participate in this endeavor.  I appreciate the collegial and professional debate.

Thanksgiving, a time for reflection.

It seems that for many, Thanksgiving is a time for reflection.  There are many things, some personal - some collective, for which to give thanks.  In the spirit of reflection, I'd like to give some updates on past posts and see where we are now in the OGME worlds.

It has been some time since my last post!  I was hit by the confluence of MBA residency, two sons and a daughter headed back to school and the realities of a turn in my professional life.  But, enough about me...I'm back for now!

In an earlier post, I noted that there were a multitude of AOA standard's changes up for comment.  These included the changes to the standards for Osteopathic Postgraduate Training Institutions (OPTIs).  This were subsequently approved by the AOA's Council on Postgraduate Training (COPT) at their November meeting.  There, for better or for worse, were few comments.  While I'm sure that some will come back and wonder the who, why, when and where of these standards changes, little can be said about the transparency of the process.

I have noted several times that I participated in a conference on the future of graduate medical education in the United States in May.  This was sponsored by the Macy Foundation.  The report from this conference was published online and the monograph has been printed.  There has been quite a bit of discussion in both the lay press and the medical media on this report.  The Federal government's Council on Graduate Medical Education discussed this at their most recent meeting.

In October the ACGME published proposed changes to their Common Program Requirements.  The changes would require ACGME (or Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada) accredited training as a prerequisite for further ACGME training.  This would significant alter several ACGME residency programs' practices, such as Family Medicine, Radiology and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residencies.  It would also significantly impact fellowships in several specialties.

These changes have several potential unintended consequences to GME and physician workforce.  There are also several direct consequences to osteopathic trainees.  The changes included an impact statement that tangentially questioned the veracity of AOA accreditation of GME.  The AODME along with the AOA and AACOM submitted comments on the proposed changes.  Many other organizations, both within and outside the osteopathic community also commented on the proposals negative impact on osteopathic physicians.  We all eagerly await the outcome.

As the end of the year holidays come upon us, the AODME has published for approval changes to the organization's by-laws.  These changes, which I will discuss in a subsequent post, aim to update the by-laws and the AODME to be in line with the current realities of OGME.

Finally, in a weekend of thanks, I am thankful most for my family.  Thanksgiving weekend is always a joy to spend time with my immediate and extended family.  I am especially thankful for Ava, Ben, Ethan and Michele!  They keep me going through thick and thin!

Proposed Standards changes up for comment

Follow-up is now available from a previous post on vigilance and the comment period for new standards.  Earlier this month (in the last week or two) the standards approved at the July Council of Postdoctoral Training meeting were posted.  The can be found on the AOA's web site at this link.

There is also a link to the email address where comments should be directed.  This is:  Postdoc@osteopathic.org

The comment period is 45 days - so this should be around the end of September.

There are substantive changes in the Osteopathic Postdoctoral Training Institution standards up for comment.  These implement policy changes that have been discussed at multiple forums.There are also re-writes of many specialty standards.

This is the opportunity for the osteopathic graduate medical educators to be part of the process.
All are encouraged to comment!