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OSR-GSA Steering Committee Update
January 2008
The AAMC Group on Student Affairs represents a diverse group of medical
school administrators who work on the administrative end of major student
topics in medical education. Both as a medical student and as the national
past-chair of the OSR, it is a pleasure to be given the opportunity to
work with this group and know that the deans and administrators at our
schools across the nation work with such enthusiasm and vigor, as advocates
for students, helping us achieve our highest ambitions. Below are some
of the more salient updates from the GSA Steering Committee, which is
the main group for the various committees and sections within this broad
sector of AAMC.
Medical Student Away Rotation Affiliation Agreement Improvements
The steering committee readily endorsed an emphatic and timely request
for support from the Committee on Student Affairs to convene a working
group to address the increasing concerns of affiliation agreements necessary
for medical students to complete visiting clinical electives and community
preceptorships. The goals of this working group are two-fold:
- Engage a dialogue between ALL stakeholders (teaching hospitals,
deans, lawyers, staff, student affairs administrators, program directors
and students) to examine and identify barriers to these agreements
- Develop mutually beneficial solutions (for example a master template
for universal affiliation agreements).
Holistic Admissions and Enhancing Diversity of Incoming Medical Students
For more than 30 years, the AAMC has provided leadership and engaged in
an array of activities to increase the presence of individuals from underrepresented
populations in medicine. AAMC staff has developed an implementation plan
for creating tools and information that medical schools can adopt or adapt
to suit their institution-specific mission and goals, culture, and constraints.
The plan includes an institutional self-assessment, presentation materials,
guidance to be published on building institutional diversity (The Roadmap
to Diversity), a centralized Web resource, and training (e.g., workshops,
forums for sharing effective practices). The self-assessment, presentation
materials, and Roadmap to Diversity publication are currently under development.
Transition from Medical School to Residency Forum at the AAMC Annual
Meeting
The GSA convened their annual "Transition to Residency" Forum at the 2007
Annual Meeting in DC. The forum incorporated the OSR's "Principles by
Which Comprehensive Residency Program Data Should be Provided" and invited
groups to the session to begin speaking about ways to increase transparency
in this vital time of transition. Representatives from groups such as
the Organization of Program Directors Association, National Board of Medical
Examiners, and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education attended
and participated in an interesting and groundbreaking discussion. These
discussions are currently developing and it is anticipated that the next
major development will be made in June during a GSA Professional Development
Conference in Tucson, AZ. Stay Tuned!
AAMC Criminal Background Check Service - Pilot program updates
Preliminary results from the initial pilot test for CBCs using AMCAS are
showing that the process developed is effective and appropriate for the
need it was originally developed. The OSR has been involved with the development
of this process from the beginning and has acknowledged that, from the
viewpoint of students and perspective-medical-students, this fulfills
an important need and does so in the best possible manner. The pilot is
being extended and broadened to continue through the 2009 entering class,
so that enough data can be gathered to be able to fully endorse the release
of this service nation wide. The associated costs for the CBCs will be
assumed by the AAMC and the application fee will not rise at the present
time.
Diane Reis
OSR Chair
University of Wisconsin SOM
dcreis@wisc.edu
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