|
|
|
|
ORR Report
Gelareh Zargaraff, MD and Kenneth Yu, MD, MBA represented Emergency Medicine and the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors (CORD) at the 14th Annual Meeting of the Organization of Resident Representatives (ORR) of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) on November 4 - 6, 2005 in Washington DC. The ORR's annual meeting was held in conjunction with the 116th Annual Meeting of the AAMC entitled "Beyond Boundaries".
The ORR serves as the voice of resident physicians within the AAMC and is comprised of over 40 resident and fellow physicians appointed by their respective member organizations from the AAMC's Council of Academic Societies (CAS). The mission of the ORR is to improve health care quality by resident physician education and professional development, which it seeks to accomplish by supporting the goals and initiatives of the AAMC.
On the first day of the meeting, the ORR initially met at the welcome luncheon where the agenda of the meeting was discussed. This was followed by a plenary session moderated by Dr. Deborah Powell, Dean of the University of Minnesota, on the cost of creating doctors and the growing national expense of medical education. Following this was an educational session led by cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Micheal Argenziano of New York Presbyterian Hospital, discussing the introduction and influence of Micro-robotics in medicine.
On the morning of Nov 5th, the ORR had a breakfast meeting with Dr. Jordan Cohen, President of the AAMC. During this meeting, Dr. Cohen briefed the ORR on current issues being addressed by the AAMC and most importantly, the release of the "Compact Between Resident Physicians and Their Teachers". The Compact was created by faculty of the AAMC and residents of the ORR to reinforce the fundamental principles of graduate medical education and the major commitments of both residents and faculty to the educational process and to patient care. Dr. Cohen urged institutions to "adopt and adapt" the Compact and commit to its mission. More information about the Compact can be obtained at www.aamc.org/residentcompact.
Following breakfast was an educational session led by Dr. David Korn, Deputy Editor of JAMA, on the importance of protecting integrity of clinical research and medical literature. Dr. Korn discussed the gradual loss of credibility of published research and the evolving relationship between the pharmaceutical industry and academic medicine. This was followed by a session held by Dr. Pamela Derstine, Senior Project Associate of the ACGME, on the accreditation and assessment process of residency programs. At lunch, Dr. Bennett deBoisblanc of Louisiana State University gave a moving account of his experience at Charity Hospital in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. The afternoon agenda included a plenary session headed by Barbara McNamara, Director of Medical Education at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation, on effectively integrating residents into research activities, and an educational session by Dr. Frederick Chen of the University of Washington on bridging the widening gap between residency training and the evolving practice environment.
On the final day, the ORR held its national elections for the coming year. Dr. Rachel Allen, an Internal Medicine resident at the Mayo Clinic was elected President-Elect of the ORR. Dr. Ferhan Asghar, an orthopedic surgery spine fellow from Vanderbilt University, moved from President-Elect to President of the ORR. A six member executive advisory board was also elected. The ORR Professional Development Conference is planned for March 16 - 18, 2006 in Miami, Florida.
Dr. Zargaraff is a third year Emergency Medicine resident at the University of California, Los Angeles – Olive View Emergency Medicine Residency program. She is serving her second year on the ORR and she can be reached by email at zargaraf@ucla.edu. Dr. Yu is a second year Emergency Medicine resident at the combined Columbia/Cornell program at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. He is serving his first year on the ORR and he can be reached by email at kty9001@nyp.org.
Gelareh Zargaraff, MD
zargaraf@ucla.edu
UCLA – Olive View Medical Center
Kenneth Yu, MD, MBA
Kty9001@nyp.org
New York-Presbyterian Hospital
Return to CORD Home Page
|