Are Your Incoming Chief Residents Attending the APDIM Meeting?

The Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine (APDIM) will be holding its spring conference from March 30 through April 2 in New Orleans, Louisiana. If the incoming chief residents from your institution are attending the meeting, please encourage them to stop by the ACP booth in the exhibit hall (booth number 12).

At the ACP booth, new chief residents will have the opportunity to sign-up to receive next year’s UPdates newsletters. Just for signing up they will receive a free copy of the Internal Medicine Essentials for Clerkship Students textbook and the Practice Management Library for Internists- Guides, Tools and Resources on CD-ROM.

Attend Leadership Day and
Internal Medicine 2008

This year, Leadership Day and Internal Medicine 2008 will be held back-to-back in Washington D.C. from May 13-17.

Leadership Day, May 13-14. Leadership Day provides an opportunity for ACP and our members to increase our presence in Washington, DC and bring visibility to issues of common concern. Participants receive a comprehensive orientation and briefing on ACP’s top legislative priorities and then have an opportunity to meet with legislators and the staff on Capitol Hill.

Internal Medicine 2008, May 15-17. Internal Medicine 2008 is the premier scientific meeting for internal medicine and features over 260 scientific sessions. Scientific sessions geared toward residents and subspecialty fellows-in-training include: Medicine Crossfire: Hot Topics in Medicine for Residents, Preparing for the ABIM Examination, Teaching Residents and Fellows to Teach, and Faculty Development Presentation Skills for Physicians.

More information including registration forms and hotel and travel details on Leadership Day and Internal Medicine 2008 can be found on ACP’s Web site.

ACP Recognizes Women’s History Month

ACP recognizes Women’s History Month throughout March with the following resources available online:

A Historical Look into Women in Medicine (1880-1930): Explore the journey of female physicians in internal medicine.[PDF]

Panel Interview and Podcast: Listen to the Podcast or read the interview summary featuring four of ACP’s female physician members.

ACP Internist Profile: Meet Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, President and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and an ACP Master.

IMpact, My Kind of Medicine: Discover why female physicians across the country decided to become internists:

Early Women Leaders of ACP: See if you recognize any of the first female ACP Governors, Regents and Officers.[PDF]

ACP publishes groundbreaking textbook for providers about health care needs of
sexually-oriented minorities

To provide medical providers guidance on specific health issues affecting their lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) patients, ACP paired with The Fenway Institute to publish The Fenway Guide to LGBT Health. The book is designed to teach current and future medical providers about the unique health care needs of sexual and gender minorities, who in addition to regular health needs, also experience health disparities because of continuing discrimination and ignorance related to sexual orientation or gender identity. For example, LGBT patients as a whole are 40 to 70 percent more likely to smoke, gay and bisexual men are at greater risk for HIV and other STD acquisition and transmission, and LGBT youth are often isolated and at higher risk for depression and attempted suicide. The Fenway Guide to LGBT Health is edited by Dr. Harvey Makadon, Dr. Ken Mayer, and Hilary Goldhammer of The Fenway Institute at Fenway Community Health, and Dr. Jennifer Potter of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

An ACP Press title, The Fenway Guide to LGBT Health was distributed by all medical book sellers, including Ingram Book Group. It is also available to readers on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, the ACP Web site or by calling ACP Customer Service at 800-523-1546 ext. 2600.

Take Advantage of ACP’s Educational Resources for Your Residents

ACP is particularly proud of its educational offerings and opportunities that are geared toward residents, some of which you may not be aware of.

Prepare for the Board Exam.

  • MKSAP 14, the premier resource for both high quality content and self-assessment questions modeled after ABIM certification examination questions, is now available in an on-line version, in addition to its traditional print and CD-ROM versions. Relied upon by 4 out of every 5 internal medicine residents when preparing for the internal medicine board examination, MKSAP is the most popular resource for board preparation and is used by more than twice as many residents as any other available board review product.
  • MKSAP is now supplemented by a new product, Board Basics, offered for the first time with MKSAP 14. Providing a concise summary of key teaching points for residents before they take the boards, Board Basics is provided as a free additional study resource to ACP Associates who also purchase MKSAP 14. More information on MKSAP 14 and Board Basics can be found online.

Educate Your Residents on Quality Improvement

  • As you know, two of the current ACGME competencies are systems-based practice and practice-based learning and improvement. ACP now offers its Diabetes Closing the Gap quality improvement program to residency training programs as an opportunity to educate residents about quality improvement, apply best models of systems-based care to their patients, and track patient outcomes, all in the context of caring for patients with diabetes. For additional information or if you are interested in using Diabetes Closing the Gap in your training program, please contact Dr. Vincenza Snow, Director of Clinical Programs and Quality of Care.

Test Your Knowledge

  • If you or your residents are interested in a free educational game for your mobile device or your computer, check out the new Doctor’s Dilemma Mobile software. Using questions from ACP’s national medical knowledge competition for internal medicine residents, Doctor’s Dilemma Mobile allows your residents to test their medical knowledge and have fun at the same time. It’s also a great way for your residents to prepare for regional or national Doctor’s Dilemma competitions.

We hope you find these resources helpful to you and your residents!

Advocacy Brief: Update on Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act

On February 7, the House of Representatives passed "The College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007" (H.R. 4137) to reauthorize the Higher Education Act (HEA) through 2012. H.R. 4137 contains several changes, new programs, and studies of importance to medical education.

In the area of student financial aid and loan forgiveness, the House bill provides:

  • An increase in the annual Perkins loan limit for graduate/professional students from $6,000 to $8,000 and a corresponding increase in the aggregate Perkins loan limit for graduate/professional students from $40,000 to $60,000;
  • A new $10,000 loan forgiveness program for "medical specialists" who have been accepted to, or currently participate in, an ACGME-accredited graduate medical education training program or fellowship that requires more than 5 years of total graduate medical training and has fewer U.S. medical school graduate applicants than the total number of positions available under these programs;
  • A 6-month grace period for repayment of GradPLUS loans;
  • Direction for the Department of Education to work with the Department of the Treasury to enhance the financial literacy of students at institutions of higher education through the development of initiatives, programs, and curricula;
  • A requirement that institutions to certify private educational loans and to provide information on available federal alternatives; and
  • The "student loan sunshine" language that addresses financial aid administrator-lender relationships.

The House bill also includes a Government Accountability Office study on education related indebtedness of medical school graduates. The Senate passed their version of the reauthorization bill in July 2007.

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 493 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.

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. However, materials can be postmarked up to April 15th by prior arrangement.

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 request a pdf of the booklet be e-mailed to you, or request a print copy be mailed to you. For a copy of the booklet, or if you wish to submit nomination materials after the April 1st deadline, contact Meghann Williams, Coordinator, ACP Awards-Convocation and Diversity, at mewilliams@acponline.org, 800-523-1546, ext. 2714.

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

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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!

New SEP Points Option with MKSAP 14!

MKSAP 14 subscribers now have a new option for earning SEP points in the ABIM Maintenance of Certification program.

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Annals Audio Summary Podcasts

Annals Audio Summary Podcasts Hear a summary of current Annals articles and quick interviews with authors in an easy-listening format.



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