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OSR Immediate Past Chair Update
June 2008
ACGME US Residency Program Match Data
The OSR Ad Board continues to explore the collection and communication
of comprehensive data on ACGME U.S. residencies. Theoretically, the data
would be akin to the Medical School Admissions Requirements (MSAR) book
used by medical school applicants, but would likely be presented in an
electronic database format. A document articulating the principles of
gathering program-specific match data has been produced, vetted through
the GSA Steering Committee, and was affirmed by the Council of Deans in
February 2007. This document was shared with the Organization of Program
Directors Associations (OPDA), which has encouraged programs to make all
suggested information available on their websites. Momentum is gathering
and a diverse group of stakeholders are scheduled to meet in Tucson in
June, at the GSA PDC. I will be presenting the student's perspective and
will participate in discussions with members and leaders of the GSA, OPDA,
and the manager of AMA's FRIEDA, in a plenary session entitled: Characteristics
of residency programs and increasing transparency. Our work in articulating
the ideals of having comprehensive data on the 8600 GME programs in the
United States seems to be gathering momentum in the appropriate circles.
Conflicts of Interest
In response to the JAMA article "Health Industry Practices That Create
Conflicts of Interest: A Proposal for Academic Medicine," published in
January of 2006, and the broadening issue nationwide, the AAMC Executive
Council formed a Task Force on Industry Support for Medical Education
that is charged with defining the principals and charting the course for
appropriate industry subvention of medical education and other industry
gifting practices. A 43 page preliminary report of the recommendations
of the Task Force are currently posted online off of the AAMC
public site (PDF, 43 pages). The report is awaiting final approval
from the Executive Council in June, but the information is so timely and
important that it was released in draft form. I encourage you to glance
at this report and think constructively about the recommendations made.
Please feel free to use the ideals embedded within to entertain discussions
and deliberations on this topic at each one of your medical school campuses.
As future medical professionals, it would behoove us to critically think
about issues such as this in which academic medical centers and members
of industry meet, that share the common goal of improving the health of
the public. Also, check out the current discussion thread on the OSR Online
Community Blackboard and provide
us with your perspective and that of your student body. Discussions of
this nature will continue to develop in unforeseen way; it is hoped that
this report will give the nation a common landscape from which to constructively
work on the next steps at improving these interactions across academic
medical centers.
Jim Littlejohn
Immediate Past Chair
Texas A&M HSC COM
jelittlejohn@medicine.tamhsc.edu
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