| 37.1 |
ACGME Requirement |
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The Sponsoring Institution and its ACGME-accredited programs must provide an educational and work environment in which residents may raise and resolve issues without fear of intimidation or retaliation. Mechanisms to ensure this environment must include the following: |
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An organization or other forum for residents to communicate and exchange information on their educational and work environment, their programs, and other resident issues. |
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A process by which individual residents can address concerns in a confidential and protected manner. |
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In addition, the institution must provide services and develop health care delivery systems to minimize the work of residents that is extraneous to their GME programs’ educational goals and objectives and to ensure that resident experience is not compromised by excessive reliance on residents to fulfill non-physician service obligations. These services and systems must include: |
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Patient support services: Peripheral intravenous access placement, phlebotomy, and laboratory and transporter services must be provided in a manner appropriate to and consistent with educational objectives and quality patient care. |
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Laboratory/pathology/radiology services: Laboratory, pathology, and radiology services must be in place to support timely and quality patient care. |
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Medical records: A medical records system that documents the course of each patient's illness and care must be available at all times and must be adequate to support quality patient care, residents’ education, quality assurance activities, and provide a resource for scholarly activity. |
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The institution must ensure a healthy and safe work environment that provides for: |
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Food services: Residents must have access to appropriate food services 24 hours a day while on duty in all institutions. |
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Call rooms: Residents on call must be provided with adequate and appropriate sleeping quarters that are safe, quiet, and private. |
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Security/safety: Appropriate security and personal safety measures must be provided to residents at all locations including but not limited to: parking facilities, on-call quarters, hospital and institutional grounds, and related facilities. |
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| 37.2 |
Resident Forums |
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The Resident Forum is a mechanism for residents to communicate and exchange information on their educational and work environment, their programs, and other resident issues, in a confidential and protected manner. Resident forum meetings are held approximately quarterly. Resident members of the GMEC serve as facilitators of the meetings. Any and all residents are welcome to attend the meetings. The GME Office provides staff assistance and help with meeting setup, but do not attend the meetings. The purpose of the meetings is: |
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To help the GMEC resident members better represent the residents’ concerns to the GMEC. |
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To improve communication among residents, between programs, and between departments. |
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To elicit resident feedback in a peer to peer environment. |
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To improve morale among residents and to provide a venue for effecting change. |
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The resident facilitators of the Forum meetings use a standard form to record the date, time, and location of the meetings, the names of the facilitators, and the number of residents who attended the meetings. The form is also used to collect resident comments and concerns, which are reported to the GMEC and the GME Office for follow-up. |
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| 37.3 |
Resources for Residents |
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There are several levels at which residents may address problems and issues. In ascending order, these include: |
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Chief Resident |
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Program Director |
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Director of Graduate Medical Education |
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Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education |
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Residents who are uncomfortable discussing a problem within the program, or who wish to report a problem in anonymity, may use the GME Resident Hot Line. The Hot Line is checked by only the Director of GME and/or the Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education. Confidentiality is assured. |
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All Campus resources for students and employees are also open to residents. Information is available from the University's web site or by contacting the GME Office. |
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| 37.4 |
Resident Activities |
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Resident activities are designed to provide the optimal educational experience possible, in an environment of clinical patient care. Resident involvement in patient care must be carefully supervised to ensure that the patient receives the highest quality of care. Any basic or routine technical or administrative work required of a resident must be part of the learning process and should only be related to a patient in whose care the resident is involved. |
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