The University of New Mexico
Graduate Medical Education
Rightsizing Committee
14 September 2006
VAMC Expansion 2007-08
Chair: Gerald Charlton, MD
Present: Graeber, Bell-Pena, Bogenschutz, Kapsner, Watt, Sparkman, Pohl, Fernandez, Chapin, Gateley, Kingsley
Introductions and Purpose
The committee was charged with the responsibility to make recommendations to the Dean of the School of Medicine and to the VAMC Liaison for priorities of funding for program expansion and new programs. The Rightsizing Committee is a task force designated by the Operations Committee. Voting and discussion will occur in a closed door session at the end of the next committee meeting. Final prioritization of the requested positions for the VAMC will be made after all position requests have been presented to the committee and the number of reallocations have been finalized by the VAMC. Recommendations of the Rightsizing Committee will then be made to the GME Executive Committee and forwarded to the Operations Committee and the GME Forum. The recommendations of the committee will be prioritized based on educational value of the program and hospital need. Members of the committee were introduced. Requests for VAMC funding are for academic year 2007-08.
Radiology
Request: 1.0 FTE at the VAMC for academic year 2007-08
Jennifer Pohl, MD, Program Director of Radiology made the above request to the Rightsizing Committee. The program expanded by 1.0 FTE last year with Departmental funds. The increase of one trainee would provide referring services to the Emergency Service and impatient services during the evening shift. The position would impact interpretation diagnosis for improved patient care. The increase will have a positive impact on other services and student education. Fred Mettler, MD is the Chief of Service for Radiology at the VAMC and has an excellent reputation as an educator. The increase in the number of trainees will have a positive impact on duty hours and provide more educational time for all trainees. The Department has a national reputation for excellent in excelling on Radiology Board scores. The resident to faculty ration would be one to one. The increase in trainees would be within the current RRC approved number of trainees.
ACGME Accreditation Status: Continued Accreditation
Vote: Voting was deferred until it is known how many positions the Albuquerque VAMC will be allotted for academic year 2007-08 over the current cap.
Action: The committee deferred action until the exact number of position that will be available at the VAMC over the current cap is know. The exact date this information will be known is speculative but should be in time for the next committee meeting in November 2006.
Neurology
Request: 3.0 FTE (1.0 FTE per year for 3 years) at the VAMC beginning in academic year 2007-08
John Chapin, MD, Program Director of Neurology made the presentation and request to the committee. The increase in the number of trainees would help decrease the resident’s duty hours, the number of nights on calls, and provide for increased coverage on consultations and wards. Currently, there has been a significant decrease in off service rotations. The out patient clinic at the VA offers an excellent clinical experience for trainees. The additional trainee would provide increase patient coverage and would additional time for resident electives. Also, the increase in residents would provide time for more training in EEG, EMG, and neuropathology. The increase in trainees would provide time for more educational opportunities for all trainees in the department.
An increase in the number of trainees would require petitioning the RRC for approval.
ACGME Accreditation Status: Continued Accreditation w/ progress report
Vote: Voting was deferred until it is known how many positions the Albuquerque VAMC will be allotted for academic year 2007-08 over the current cap.
Action: The committee deferred action until the exact number of position that will be available at the VAMC over the current cap is know. The exact date this information will be known is speculative but should be in time for the next committee meeting in November 2006. Committee members questioned if some funding should come from UNMH to alleviate service issues at UH.
Nationally the VAMC is reallocating and increasing funding for ACGME accredited programs. There will be approximately 300 position nationally for next academic year and approximately 1,500 positions over a four to five year period. Each VAMC will be allocated a number of positions each year based upon their request, accreditation status, educational merit, and patient care needs of each site. The Albuquerque VA currently funds 114 resident training positions. Reallocations will be based upon positions not utilized at VAMC facilities.
A list of program requesting increases for 2007-08 was submitted to the VA Headquarters in June 2006 in order to meet the VAMC deadline. The list was reviewed by the GMEC in June 2006. A copy of the request and documentation from each department was provided to the committee. The request for an increase of 10 FTE was submitted for the following departments in the following priority: Urology, Addiction Psychiatry, Pulmonary Critical/Care, Internal Medicine, Psychiatry, Anesthesiology, Geriatric Psychiatry, Internal Medicine, Psychiatry, and Radiology.
Action: The Committee will prioritize all positions based on educational rational, ACGME accreditation status of the program, and patient care need. The committee should know the number of positions reallocated to the Albuquerque VAMC by the November 2006 Rightsizing Committee. Action was deferred until that time.
The next meeting will be 2 November 2006 at Noon.
UNMH positions for 2008-09
Departmental funded positions for 2007-08