2007 Recruit-a-Resident
ACP is currently offering rewards for Associate recruitment through the 2007 Recruit-a-Resident Program. If 90% or more of the categorical internal medicine or medicine-pediatric residents in a program become ACP Associates, each resident will receive the following free educational resources:
- MKSAP OneTwenty - Two new sets of 60 pre-tested MKSAP questions that meet the ABIM's high statistical standards, presented in the same format that is used for the ABIM Certification Exam. The advanced features in this CD-ROM application help residents test their knowledge, compare their performance to practicing physicians, and receive focused, in-depth instruction on the questions that they answer incorrectly.
- The latest Updates (recent important papers in internal medicine subspecialties) and Multiple Small Feedings of the Mind (answers to essential clinical questions for the practicing internist) on CD-ROM.
The 90% participation rate must be achieved by December 31, 2007 in order for residents to secure these free educational products from the College. As of October 1, there are 79 residency programs that already reached 90%. To find out how many residents in your program are currently ACP Associates, or for more details about the program, please visit the Recruit-a-Resident Web site or e-mail Jodi Todd, Programs and Services Coordinator.
.Nominate Outstanding Residents for an ACP Award
The Awards Committee of the American College of Physicians invites your assistance in recognizing the accomplishments of distinguished individuals in medicine. The ACP award of special relevance to residents and fellows is the Joseph E. Johnson Leadership Award.
The Johnson Award recognizes an Associate member of the College—an internal medicine resident or fellow-in-training—who has demonstrated qualities that exemplify the College’s mission “to enhance the quality and effectiveness of health care by fostering excellence and professionalism in the practice of medicine” and who has outstanding achievements in any of a variety of areas: leadership, medical practice, research, teaching, publication, advocacy, and/or volunteerism. Nominees must be ACP Associates as of June 30, 2008.
Complete nominations for the Joseph E. Johnson Award should include a full CV with bibliography and a total of three (or more) detailed letters of support. The deadline is April 1, 2008. Materials may be submitted by E-mail, mail, or fax. For detailed instructions for preparing nominations and further information, consult the ACP Awards and Masterships Booklet. You may view it online
, request a pdf to be E-mailed to you, or request a print copy to be mailed to you. (Note that the three-letter requirement for the Johnson Award and the deadline date in April represent a change from what is specified in the Awards and Masterships Booklet.) E-mail Meghann Williams, Coordinator, ACP Awards-Convocation and Diversity, or call 800-523-1546, ext. 2714.
National Council of Associates Update
The Council of Associates (COA) is a group of residents and subspecialty fellows from across the country who serve as the voice for Associate members of the American College of Physicians (ACP). Over the past year, the COA has taken on a number of projects ranging from educational initiatives to increasing Associate membership within ACP. A few of the Council’s projects include:
- Working with educators within ACP to develop a morning report tool to facilitate interactive, evidence-based discussions in the morning report setting.
- Recruiting interested and motivated Associate members to be a part of the Associate Leadership Network, a nation-wide interactive web-based network designed to facilitate discussion and collaboration between Associates.
- Distributing the Council’s DRUG SMART card which examines the relationship between residents and the pharmaceutical industry.
Council members will be discussing these projects as well as quality improvement initiatives and Associate programming for Internal Medicine 2008 at their upcoming fall meeting in Philadelphia. If you have comments regarding these topics that you would like to bring before the Council, please contact your regional COA representative.
.Associate Leadership Network (ALN)
Know a resident with an interest in leadership, medical education, or health policy? Encourage them to sign-up for the ALN. The ALN is a group of Associates who are devoted to policy issues that shape internal medicine education as well as resident and subspecialty training. ALN members receive quarterly newsletters with information on legislative actions, upcoming ACP meetings and College products and services. Newsletters are concise, timely and catered to the needs of the busy schedule of residents and subspecialty fellows.
To join the ALN please send an e-mail indicating your interest to the Council of Associates.
.ACP Internal Medicine Report
The American College of Physicians produces the Internal Medicine Report, a monthly series of medical and health-related broadcast reports for television news stations. Each report features important medical and health issues related to internal medicine. The series of monthly reports contain new research from Annals of Internal Medicine, clinical guidelines, health care public policy issues, and a host of other topics. Since its debut in 2001, hundreds of television stations nationwide in all major metropolitan markets have come to rely on the Internal Medicine Report for original medical and health news.
A new report on the effect of aerobic and resistance exercise on blood sugar control in people with diabetes was released in September. The study, "Effects of Aerobic Training, Resistance Training, or Both on Glycemic Control in Type 2 Diabetes," and the editorial, "Exercise Training for Diabetes: The 'Strength' of the Evidence," were published in the September 18, 2007, edition of Annals of Internal Medicine.
.Redesign of Residency Training in Internal Medicine
Medical educators and stakeholder organizations in internal medicine are engaged in serious discussions about how the training of internal medicine residents should be redesigned to best meet the needs of residents, patients, and the profession. A number of factors have been contributing to this interest – concern about the service needs for inpatient care trumping the educational needs of residents, concern that ambulatory experiences for residents are poorly designed and dissuade residents from entering ambulatory practices, appreciation that productivity pressures on faculty detract from the time and attention they are able to devote to the education of housestaff, and recognition that training must best meet the needs of internists who will pursue various career paths once they have completed training.
ACP has been a major contributor to these discussions, developing two formal position statements and publishing a paper last year in Annals of Internal Medicine summarizing our specific recommendations (Weinberger SE, Collier VU, Smith LG. Redesigning training for internal medicine. Ann Intern Med. 2006;144:927-932). Since that time, the Residency Redesign Task Force of the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine (AAIM) has also been developing recommendations in conjunction with representatives from several stakeholder organizations in internal medicine, including ACP. Many of the recommendations from the Redesign Task Force are similar to those that were outlined in the ACP paper.
Specific Task Force recommendations include: 1) designing and organizing graduate and continuing medical education around a “core content” of internal medicine (the Task Force has drafted what this “core content” would include); 2) adopting and implementing competency-based education, evaluation, and advancement; 3) adopting and implementing trainee-centered educational approaches which allow for some customization of portions of residency training; 4) improving ambulatory education; 5) adopting new models for utilizing faculty; and 6) aligning institutional and programmatic resources with the goals and objectives of educational redesign. Each recommendation is described in more detail in the Task Force’s recommendations summary, and a paper from the Task Force will soon be published in Academic Medicine, the journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Finally, the Residency Review Committee for Internal Medicine (RRC-IM) is now in the process of rewriting the residency training program requirements. This will serve as an opportunity for the accreditation requirements to reflect how professional leaders feel it is best to train the next generation of internal medicine specialists and subspecialists. Ultimately, changes in the training program requirements will provide the necessary catalyst for changes to be implemented by individual training programs.
.ACP Urges Stafford Loan Limit Increase
ACP joined a group of almost 60 health professions associations to urge U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings to increase the aggregate combined Stafford loan limit for health professions students from $189,125 to $223,793.
Students in programs leading to a degree in allopathic medicine, osteopathic medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, optometry, podiatric medicine, and naturopathic medicine are eligible for additional annual unsubsidized Stafford loans beyond that of a graduate/professional student. However, many students require more than this aggregate limit and are forced to seek less favorable options.
The letter points out that "the aggregate combined Stafford loan limit for health professions students has remained stagnant for over a decade, does not account for recent increases in annual unsubsidized Stafford loan limits or reflect programs of different duration, and is not defined in regulation."
Make Your Voice Heard on Capitol Hill
Key Contacts are asked to communicate with their members of Congress regarding issues of importance to internists and their patients and report the results back to ACP. As key issues approach the decision-making stage on Capitol Hill, the College e-mails or faxes legislative alerts to Key Contacts. Legislative alerts include all of the necessary information (including sample messages that can be easily personalized) to send informative communications to members of Congress.
There are currently 464 Associate members of the College who serve as Key Contacts. A breakdown of the number of Associate Key Contacts by state is available online..
ACP members are not required to have existing relationships with their members of Congress before becoming a Key Contact. Please help ACP with its efforts on Capitol Hill and encourage your residents to enroll as Key Contacts today.
.Mark Your Calendar
- ACP Leadership Day: May 13-14, 2008
- Internal Medicine 2008: May 15-17, 2008
For a complete list of upcoming dates at ACP, visit the online College calendar.
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Benefits of ACP Membership
Associate Member Benefits: ACP offers Associate membership for internal medicine residents and subspecialty fellows-in-training.
Join ACP: Take advantage of members-only benefits by becoming an Associate member of ACP today.
New SEP Points Option with MKSAP 14!
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MKSAP 14 subscribers now have a new option for earning SEP points in the ABIM Maintenance of Certification program.
Annals Audio Summary Podcasts
Hear a summary of current Annals articles and quick interviews with authors in an easy-listening format.