Author Archive for: Ruth Nawotniak
Applicants’ responses to blind interviewing
August 27th, 2009 
Last week, we featured a post describing how my program conducts blind interviews during recruitment. Several readers had questions about how applicants respond to this technique.
More educational opportunities for residency program coordinators
December 8th, 2008
As the requirements for training programs continue to evolve, one thing remains constant: the need for well-qualified and well-trained program administrators.
As I travel around the country, I have noticed an increase in the number of institutions creating educational programming for their coordinators. This training supports the professional development of the administrator, which in turn helps them run their residency or fellowship program more smoothly.
Spreading holiday cheer to residents
November 25th, 2008
The holiday season is not easy for those residents who do not have family close by or who cannot go home because of rotation and call schedules. This is certainly true for surgical residents in my program.
Interview days: An evolving process
November 19th, 2008
I have been involved with residency interviews for 14 years. It has been fascinating to see how changes in our process improved our candidates’ experience. Here’s a synopsis of the biggest and most beneficial changes we’ve made. Hopefully, there’s something here you can implement in your own program.
Blind interviewing technique explained
November 13th, 2008
A question about interviewing on Residency Coordinator Chat listserv prompted me to write a bit about the blind interview process we use here in Buffalo. Not many programs use this technique, but it’s something worth considering.
Coordinators’ role during interview season
November 5th, 2008
Interview season is underway! This is one of the most exciting times of the year– not to mention busy. With all the exercise I get moving candidates around, I forgo some of my time at the gym.
My previous chair always told candidates, “You are the prize,” and indeed they are. If you recruit well, then your training program runs well, and your first time passing rate on the Boards will typically stay above that ACGME performance bar. That’s why it’s important for program coordinators/administrators/managers to remember that we’re an integral part of the interview process.
Site visit tip: Check your case log data
October 22nd, 2008
This blog may only concern general surgery training programs although I would be interested to know if it pertains to other surgical training programs as well.
In 2005, the ACGME required all general surgery training programs to use the ACGME Resident Case Log System. Programs using another case management system before 2005 had to go through a conversion process in order to get their data on the ACGME system.
By August of every year, surgery programs submit their case data to the ACGME, and the organization sends national and program data reports out to the training programs in the fall. (You can find this data by going into ADS and clicking on Case Log Reports.) One of the 10 top citations for surgery programs is case acquisition, so most program directors and coordinators review the data reports in preparation for their site visits.
For you surgery program managers who have not had a site visit since converting your data over to the ACGME Case Log System, you may want to look at those national and program ACGME reports to see how your data was presented. Data that was converted may have been uploaded into the ACGME System incorrectly during the conversion process.
For example, the ACGME uploaded all cases as adult even though many of the cases were originally designated as pediatric. Although you may have addressed concerns with the ACGME at the time of the conversion, you will want to be prepared to address any case acquisition questions since your last site visit, including any issues stemming from the conversion.
I would be interested in knowing if any other programs have a similar situation.
Lessons learned from an ACGME Site Visit
October 16th, 2008
We just had our site visit last week. I am sure you can all relate to that relieved feeling that washes over you once it’s all over. I would like to share with you a “pearl of wisdom” I learned from this site visit.
Support for residents’ spouses
October 2nd, 2008
I spoke at a coordinator retreat at the University of Connecticut a couple weeks ago and got into a conversation about their system-wide spouse organization.
This group was developed as a support network for the residents’ spouses across all their graduate medical education training programs. The organization offers social activities and disseminates information regarding shopping, child care, housing, etc.
Bring your residents together no matter where they are
September 29th, 2008
Our residents rotate through six hospitals during the course of a year. Because of duty hour compliance issues, not all of our residents can even make it to our weekly Grand Rounds presentations. As any of you in a similar situation know, it’s hard to get an idea of how your residents are feeling and doing when they’re not right under your nose everyday.
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Ruth Nawotniak
Ruth Nawotniak is cofounder and first president of the National Board for Certification of Training Administrators of Graduate Medical Education (TAGME).
Ruth has written 18 posts.
