Every month the Stanford Anesthesia Education Committee meets to discuss all aspects of the residency and how to improve training.
Below are the minutes of our most recent meeting fyi.
MedHub Portfolios: Janine Roberts informed that residents should submit all their scholarly work directly to MedHub as an eportfolio including grand rounds, keyword presentations, journal club, abstracts, PACU and other presentations, and an updated CV.
Formal Wellness Committee formed: Our current Wellness Program was one of the first in the country and encompasses the CA-1 and CA-2 classes, and all 3 classes will be involved by the Fall of 2012. Currently, this involves a yearly retreat for the new CA-1 residents, and starting in July 2012, all 3 classes/~72 residents will have regular sessions built into the curriculum as part of the regular didactic series. With this rapid growth, an infrastructure to support the further development the program is necessary. The Education Committee was unanimous in support to form the Wellness Committee. Goals of the Wellness Committee will include developing and expanding the current program, exploring innovative ways to improve wellness while recognizing the demands and opportunities of a residency program, and recruiting additional faculty support. Also, another goal is to develop materials for the department’s website to showcase our innovative program, as well as potential research projects. Membership to include one of the Residency Program Directors, the co-Directors of the Wellness Program, representatives from each of the residency classes, a Chief Resident representative, a Psychologist/Psychiatrist or other mental health professional as well as additional faculty members.
Suggestions were to have 2 residents per class and to have them elected by their class. It was recommended that Dr Ratner and Dr Cornaby identify a process to select/elect the faculty representatives and that there be terms of 3 or 4 years duration that way faculty cycle on and of.
On-call pediatric pain coverage structure changed: Rotation Director Dr Williamson presented an update on pediatric rotation residents taking after hours pediatrics pain calls. Pediatric pain service triaging of phone calls rearranged so resident only deals with acute pain, not complex or cancer calls. Two lectures per rotation added on pediatric pain management. The number of calls now range from 1-10 per night when on call. Exit interviews suggest new structure implemented April 2012 working well.
Multispecialty division rotation keyword of the day pilot: This was introduced by CA1 Dr. Djurdjulov to the committee. The program is intended to facilitate OR teaching providing a structured method. It will be launched in block 13. Faculty and residents will receive all information electronically. Dr. Chu and AIM lab helping.
ACLS recertification for anesthesia house staff can be done online: Chief resident Dr. Reid reviewed the difficulty faced in scheduling ACLS recertification due to lack of courses on weekends/nights. The Continuing Medical Education office on campus now offers an online recertification course that can be paid for by the GME office and residents are only required to go in person to the CME office for a skills test that should only take a few minutes. This should simplify the process and ensure our residents are current in their certification.
Vacation week slots increased: Dr Harrison explained vacation schedule for next year – with the increased size of the residency program, there is need now for more vacation week slots. Almost a dozen more slots were opened mostly in the MSD during the Christmas holiday and New Years to help accommodate needs.
CA-2 lectures moved to Monday, and CA1 to Tuesday for next academic year. The committee unanimously approved moving CA-2 lectures to Monday, and CA1 lectures to Tuesday for next academic year. This would help cardiac anesthesia resident experience at Stanford.
Group evaluation of faculty housestaff approved. Even though resident evaluations of faculty are anonymous, residents state that sometimes describing a negative interaction with a faculty in any detail can give away who the resident is. A regular group evaluation of faculty by residents was proposed to increase anonymity. This will be lead by Chief Residents who will establish a communication pathway among classes. Also, a system for anonymous emails can be sent to chief resident. Program Director will serve as ombudsman and will address any issues.
STARR Teaching Scholar. Stanford Anesthesia senior Resident to Resident Teaching Scholar is a CA2 resident charged with promoting education activities in the department. The duties of the senior resident teaching scholar includes for example mentoring Stanford Anesthesia categorical and pediatric interns, implementing, evaluating, and changing curriculum to optimize medical education including during internship. Dr Udani CA2 will assume this position for this next academic year.
MICU rotation structure changes: Dr. Hennessey presented changes related to MICU rotation. The goal is to provide the residents more assessment ability of all admissions. Also, the didactic program is being improved and a better onboarding process is being created to orient the residents to the service, including EPIC the electronic medical record system. As a preparation for these changes the residents currently on service are being asked to log their MICU cases separately from the ACGME case log system and complete an assessment of their experience for each call day.
Chief Resident Update: Resident Call Scheduling: The resident call schedule is being transitioned to electronic scheduling software Amion and will now be done by the Department schedulers. The chief residents are working on the set-up now and the transition is expected to be completed by block 1.