Dear Resident,

Welcome to the UIC GME On Line Core Curriculum for Residents and Fellows. We have developed this program to provide you with information and concepts that will be helpful to you as you prepare to join the physician community.

This program was created in response to recent changes in the rules for the accreditation of graduate medical education programs. These changes require sponsoring institutions to ensure that its residency programs include a curriculum of "ethical, socioeconomic, medical/legal, and cost-containment issues that affect GME and medical practice". Because the topics span all specialties, this is referred to as the GME "core" curriculum. At UIC, we formed a working group that included clinical and medical education faculty as well as practicing physicians to determine how best to present a core curriculum. The planners formed a focus group consisting of residents, program directors, and group practice leadership to help determine which topics would be most relevant. Termed the "GME Core Curriculum", ten areas were identified, including:

1. The nature and scope of professionalism in medical practice
2. The ethics and law of health care practice and medical research
3. The evolution, organization, and financing of the U.S. health care system
4. The physician's role in effective management of the health care team
5. Quality, cost, and resource management in medical practice
6. Health care regulatory systems, agencies, and requirements
7. Life long learning and evidence based medical practice
8. Teaching and learning skills for the physician educator
9. Managing a successful medical practice
10. Fundamentals of medical and health care information systems.

These modules are intended to supplement and build upon information and discussions that your individual program will present during regular educational activities. We encourage you to use the information provided here as a basis for further exploration of issues that relate to medicine in general as well as your own particular specialty.

This program is being presented in an online format to make it convenient for the busy resident. Faculty from the College of Medicine and the community will support each course by maintaining electronic conference boards to answer questions and direct study. You will be assigned to a group of 15-20 residents from various specialties that will be your cohort for the core curriculum. We encourage you to get to know your colleagues and look forward to lively dialog on the questions and cases that you will be asked to analyze.

Help is available both on line and through a toll-free telephone number. Over time we plan to introduce new topics based on feedback from participants, with the expectation that this will truly be a core curriculum with universal applicability to resident physicians.

Thank you for your participation in this exciting new program. We welcome your comments and suggestions. Please write us at dme-online@uic.edu or DME Online, UIC College of Medicine, 808 South Wood Street MC591, Chicago, IL 60612.

The development and production of the On Line GME Core Curriculum is funded by the UI On Line Initiative of the University of Illinois.

Sincerely,

Leslie J. Sandlow, MD
Senior Associate Dean for Educational Affairs