GME Times
The UIC Graduate Medical Education Newsletter
March 2007
Vol. 4, No. 9
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Clearance Process
GME Procedure for Completing a Residency or Fellowship
Complete the GME Clearance Form completely.  No blanks can be accepted!  A completed clearance form is your proof that you have taken care of all outstanding obligations at the University.    It takes at least a half-day to collect the required  signatures.
You will receive your Clearance Form from your program office near the end of your residency or fellowship. If you do not receive the form, please send email to: gme@uic.edu
If you plan to take a vacation at the end of your training program, you must ask your program director to write a letter addressed to the UIMCC Medical Records Office. In the letter, your program director should list the start and end dates of your vacation. Without this letter, Medical Records  will not sign your clearance form prior to the official last day of your residency.
•   If resigning from your program prior to the end of your current resident agreement, you must:
a. Complete the GME Clearance Form.  See section 21.3 “Resident Resignation” in GME policy XXI, Voluntary Termination, and
b. Submit a written resignation letter to your program director, and
c. Submit “Notification of Termination as an ECFMG Exchange Visitor in the US,” if applicable.
If you are completing less than one year in your program, you will not receive a residency certificate from the GME Office.
•   If finishing one UIMCC program and entering another program at UIMCC or becoming a UIMCC attending or faculty member, you must:
•   Complete the Clearance Form.
•   Complete all sections of the Clearance Form excluding signatures from the Library, Photo ID Office, and Parking Office.
•   You cannot start a new program or become an attending until you have turned in a completed Clearance Form.
•   If finishing Internal Medicine at Christ Hospital, you must:
•   Complete all sections of the Clearance Form, excluding signatures from the UIC Parking Office, Michael Reese Hospital, and the Jesse Brown VA Hospital.
•   You must collect signatures from all other offices listed on the Clearance Form.
When all Clearance Form signatures have been acquired, use this checklist to make sure you submit the required documents to the GME Office:
> Fully completed GME Clearance Form
> Copy of your current permanent or temporary Illinois medical license
> Copy of your current ECFMG certificate, if applicable
> “Notification of Termination as an ECFMG Exchange Visitor in the US,” if applicable (required for all J-1 visa holders ONLY if leaving before end date of your current resident agreement)
> Other documents, if applicable,  listed on your GME File Deficiency Notice, including a copy of your medical or dental school diploma and an updated CV with no gaps in time from Medical or Dental School graduation through the end of your training program.
We strongly recommend that you look at your Clearance Form prior to the last day in your program because some of the required signatures are from other hospitals.
PLEASE NOTE.
If you do not complete the Clearance Form and submit the required documents, the GME Office:
•   Cannot verify your residency, and
•   Cannot give you a Certificate of Completion or a certificate listing the years served in your training program.

  
GME Online Core Curriculum Requirements for 2006-2007
•   If you are completing your residency training program, you must have completed four online Core Curriculum modules per year, or a total of ten modules for a program of three or more years unless your program requires more than ten modules. You should check your Core Curriculum progress* to ensure that you have met your program's requirements for completion of specific Core Curriculum modules.
•   If you are completing a subspecialty or fellowship program, you must have completed four online Core Curriculum modules per year unless you have previously completed them at UIC or can produce documentation of completion of a similar curriculum at another institution.  Again, check your Core Curriculum progress* to ensure that you have met your program's specific Core Curriculum requirements.
•   If your program or fellowship has approved alternative activities, check your personal Core Curriculum progress report to verify that the alternative activities have been submitted to the GME Office and recorded by the Core Curriculum Help Desk staff.
*To check your Core Curriculum progress online:
1. In your browser, go to: www.gme-core.org
2. Select “GME CORE Login” from the left menu and login as usual.
3. Then click on “Resident Tools” from the left menu.
4. Select “Personal Progress Reports” from the body of the main page.
To speed up the sign-off process:
•   Complete the end-of-module (EOM) evaluation as soon as you finish each course.
•   The Core Curriculum modules are not graded by computer. Faculty members review each response posted by every resident.  When a faculty reviewer needs clarification for a response, he or she must contact you to ask for further information.
•   As you approach the end of your training program, avoid the rush to finish final modules. There is a vastly increased workload during May and June for the faculty reviewers. It can take longer to get a sign-off at that time of year, simply because faculty moderators are trying to read, question, and review so many responses.
Reduce end-of-residency stress! Complete the Core Curriculum modules now!

  
Duty Hours Buzz: Web-Based Rotation Evaluations
A rotation evaluation is required for every rotation throughout your training program.  Access the web-based rotation evaluation program by selecting “Rotation Evaluation” from the GME Office homepage.

  
Teaching Skills Workshops for PGY1 Residents
To fulfill first-year resident Core Curriculum requirements, you must complete a total of three Teaching Skills workshops or one workshop and one practicum including the workshop presented at GME Orientation last June. For more information, select “Teaching Skills Program for Residents” from the GME Office homepage.
Additional workshops have recently been added to help you meet this requirement.