Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC) Policy

Purpose

To define the composition and responsibilities of the Louisiana State University Health Science Center – School of Medicine-New Orleans Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC).

Policy

The LSU School of Medicine-New Orleans (GMEC) is responsible for oversight of all graduate medical education programs in accordance with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Institutional Requirements.  The GMEC established and implements policies regarding the quality of education and the work environment for House Officers in all LSU graduate medical education programs, including non-accredited programs and at all the participating sites.  The GMEC meets monthly.  Written minutes are maintained.  Voting members are required to attend a minimum of 50 percent of the scheduled meetings annually.

Leadership & Membership

The GMEC convenes under the leadership of a Chairperson (DIO) and Assistant Dean for Graduate Medical Education (GME).  The voting membership includes:

• The Designated Institutional Official (DIO)
• Assistant Dean for GME
• A representative group of Fellows and Residents nominated by their peers
• House Staff Association President
• A representative group of Fellowship and Residency Program Directors
• GME Coordinators
• Director of Equip – Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Program
• Coordinator of Equip
• Up to 3 Selected Program Coordinators
• UMCNO Chief Academic Office Representative
• Participating Sites Academic/GME Representative

All members are automatically voting members; alternates may participate and vote in their absence.  Each voting member is expected to provide representation at 100 percent of the scheduled meetings.

The GMEC Membership is reviewed annually by the DIO and the Assistant Dean for GME.

Sub committees may be established with the approval of the GMEC to address priority topics as seen fit by the committee. 

GMEC Responsibilities

The GMEC is responsible for establishing and implementing policies and procedures regarding the quality of education and the work environment for House Officers, including:

Stipends and Benefits.  The GMEC annually reviews and make recommendations to the Dean and Administrative Council regarding House Officer stipends and benefits, including allocation of professional development funds.

Manpower/Position Allocation.  The GMEC reviews and makes recommendations to the DIO regarding allocation of training positions among the programs when requests are made to increase positions.

Communication with Program Directors. The GMEC ensures communication between the GMEC and all Program directors by:

• Distribution of GMEC meeting materials and minutes to all programs thru the GME Website
• Annual Liaison Survey to all Site Directors
• Require all Program Directors to maintain oversight of all program clinical sites.
• Require core residency program directors to meet regularly with their respective fellowship program directors.
• Dissemination of necessary GMEC information through the HSC GME Office email communication.
• Quarterly Council on Resident Education (CORE) meetings

Educational and Clinical Work Hour.  The GMEC monitors educational and clinical work hours to ensure compliance with institutional, common and program specific requirements by:

• Reviewing programs hours in New Innovations.
• Requiring Program Directors with serious and or chronic educational and clinical work hour violations and unacceptable survey results to provide a corrective action plan and provide periodic progress reports.
• Reviewing educational and clinical work hour compliance as part of the Special Focused Review Process and Annual Program Evaluation.
• Reviewing and approving requests for exceptions in the educational and clinical work hour requirements prior to submission to an RRC.

Supervision.  The GMEC monitors programs’ supervision of House Officers to ensure that supervision is consistent with the provision of safe and effective patient care, the educational needs of House Officers, the progressive responsibility as appropriate to the House Officer’s level of education, competence and experience; other applicable Common Requirements and specialty/subspecialty-specific Program Requirements by:

Reviewing program policies for (a) responsibilities for patient care, (b) progressive responsibility for patient management and (c) supervision over the continuum of the program as part of the Special Review Process.

Communication with the Organized Medical Staff- Administrative Council and Faculty Assembly.  The GMEC provides ongoing communication with the Organized Medical Staff with regards to the safety and quality of patient care including by:

DIO annual presentation to the Executive Council and the Faculty Assembly

Information submitted in the School of Medicine Newsletter- THE PULSE

Curriculum and Evaluation, The GMEC ensures that each program provides a curriculum and evaluation system that enables residents to demonstrate achievement of ACGME general competencies, as defined in the Common and Program Requirements by:

Reviewing curriculum, rotation competency based objectives and evaluation methods as part of the program as part of the Special Review process.

Receiving reports from the DIO related to GME annual program evaluations (APE’s).

GMEC Subcommittee Presentations and Summaries

House Officer Status.  The GMEC ensures compliance with Institutional and Common Program Requirements in accordance with its policies related to selection, evaluation, promotion, transfer, discipline and/or dismissal.

Oversight.  The GMEC oversees institutional and program accreditation, requests for program changes, experimentation and innovation, program reductions and closures and vendor interactions by:

Reviewing ACGME institution and program letters of notification and monitoring action plans for correction of citations and areas of noncompliance;

Ensuring that vendor interaction policy addresses interactions between vendor representatives and House Officers/GME programs.

Approving the following:

• Institution GME policies and procedures
• Applications to ACGME for accreditation of new programs; Approving requests for changes in resident complement;
• Requests for major changes in program structure or length of training;
• Additions or deletions of participating sites;
• Progress reports requested by a Review Committee;
• Appointments of new program directors;
• Responses to all proposed adverse actions;
• Responses to CLER reports if necessary;
• Appeal presentations to a Board of Appeal of the ACGME;
• Proposals for experimentation or innovative projects;
• Reductions and closures of programs;
• Voluntary withdrawal of program accreditation;
• Educational work hours exceptions;
• Proposals for new non-accredited graduate medical education programs;
• Exceptional Candidate requests

Special Program Reviews.  The GMEC oversees the special review process for underperforming programs in accordance with its established protocol and policy. All outcomes are monitored by the GMEC with long-term follow-up reports until a satisfactory completion of the Recommendations is carried out.