ORR Chair Message

January 2003

AAMC-ORR Ad Board Retreat Highlights

On January 17th, 2002, the members of the 2002 - 2003 ORR Administrative Board met at the AAMC headquarters in Washington, DC for their annual retreat. The retreat serves to help Ad Board members get acquainted with the AAMC and each other and begin forming an agenda for the year. Browse the links below for complete summaries of the retreat highlights and information on upcoming ORR events and meeting dates.

Retreat Highlights:

Charge to the ORR from Michael Whitcomb, M.D.

Dr. Michael Whitcomb, M.D. (VP - Division of Medical Education) requested that the ORR aid the AAMC in its new focus on improving medical education. Despite significant progress in standardizing GME curricular content and assessment through core competencies, a central issue remains of whether residency programs are preparing residents for the current scope of practice. One of the major roadblocks to answering this question is a critical lack of data defining the usual "scope of practice" for any of today's diverse medical specialties and practice settings. In an effort to improve the health care environment, the Agency for Healthcare Quality Research (AHQR) has requested a proposal from the AAMC to help develop a quality improvement loop for the medical education system.

Dr. Whitcomb asked members of the ORR to begin working with the AAMC in the initial phases of this effort. The ORR was charged with obtaining information which will (1) define the scope of practice of today's practitioners, and (2) assess how well current residency training objectives match that scope of practice. ORR Ad Board members accepted Dr. Whitcomb's exciting charge, and immediately began work on developing a survey tool which will be administered through the ORR general membership. A tentative plan was set to convene a session with Dr. Whitcomb at the Spring Professional Development Conference to discuss preliminary findings.

• Dr. Whitcomb's Editorial in Academic Medicine

2002 Annual Meeting Evaluations

Dr. Francis Nuthalapaty, M.D. (Chair, ORR) presented summary data from the 2002 Annual meeting evaluations. All sessions received generally positive ratings. The one area for improvement that participants identified was speaker time management exemplified by the session on Industry Relations. Several speakers were noted to run long leaving inadequate time for discussion from the audience. The Ad Board agreed that more guidance has to come from the moderator for controlling session flow. Other suggestions included soliciting speaker ideas at the ORR membership at the concluding business meeting and using the standardized AAMC meeting evaluation form for all future sessions. You can download the complete evaluation summary through the following link:

• 2002 Annual Meeting Evaluation Summary

2003 Professional Development Conference Planning

The Joint GRA/ORR Professional Development Conference is scheduled for April 26 - 29, 2003 in Philadelphia, PA. The GRA has developed its preliminary program which includes several sessions pertinent to the ORR membership. Dr. Azita Hamedani M.D. (ORR Ad Board) was selected to serve as the resident responder on the session titled, "Restructuring Resident Education and Patient Care." The Ad Board is currently working on identifying topics for the two additional ORR skill building sessions. Potential topics include, career development, medical writing, and risk management. Look for the complete ORR preliminary program following the February Ad Board meeting

Report on AAMC Executive Council Retreat

In mid-December the AAMC officer's retreat was held to review the goals of the AAMC and strengthen lines of communication between the many and varied parts of this large organization. Dr. Jane Dopkins, M.D. (Chair-Elect, ORR) was the lone ORR representative.

The retreat was a time for elected officers from the many branches of the AAMC to come together with the staff to discuss current and future issues facing medical education. Dr. Dopkins reported to the Ad Board that her understanding and appreciation for all that the AAMC does and strives to do in medical schools, teaching hospitals, and on "the hill" was greatly enhanced by her participation in the retreat. She noted that the AAMC is an impressive organization with many branches, each of which has an important part to play in medical education. Understanding how all these parts work together as well as understanding how the AAMC works with affiliated organizations such as the ACGME and the AHA is a mighty task.

A variety of issues were discussed at this year's retreat, ranging from the huge problem of the uninsured, to new initiatives in medical school teaching techniques, to whether or not a prescription drug benefit package will be passed. The time together was productive and helped strengthen lines of communication between groups with different, but related priorities.

Definition of Underrepresented Minorities

Several representatives from the AAMC Division of Community and Minority Programs visited with the Ad Board to discuss the current status of the AAMC review of the definition of "Underrepresented Minorities." The review committee has been soliciting comments on its current draft which favors a new definition of "underrepresented in medicine." According to this new definition, "underrepresented in medicine" means those racial and ethnic populations that are underrepresented in the medical profession relative to their numbers in the general population. This definition more closely parallels the current federal definition.

ORR New Member FAQ

Dr. Jane Dopkins, M.D. (ORR, Chair-Elect) presented an idea to help the ORR membership feel more comfortable with what the AAMC is, why our voice is important, and how the AAMC can help guide members toward a stronger career in medicine. She suggested the creation of a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for new members. This FAQ would address a breadth of issues such as, how the ORR is funded and what it means that we "lobby on Capitol Hill"? An action plan was developed by the Ad Board for completion of this project. Dr. Dopkins will gather preliminary information and then solicit additional questions from the general membership. A preliminary draft will be presented at the Professional Development Conference.

Upcoming Meetings

The next ORR Ad Board meeting will be held February 19th - 20th, in conjunction with the AAMC Executive Council Meeting. Members who have concerns they would like to be addressed at this meeting can contact Alexis Ruffin, alruffin@aamc.org

Thank you,

Francis Nuthalapaty, M.D.
Chair, AAMC-ORR

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