ARCS 2003 Program

Site visit 2.xls (The list developed was for a site visit schedule in May, 2002. Consequently, to obtain the most recent PIF document, they will need to go to the ACGME web site and download the current version).

Certification for Residency Coordinators in Surgery

Due to interest generated on the issue of a certification/credentialing process for surgery coordinators that was presented at the 2002 Spring Conference, preliminary research into the process was started and a formal presentation was made at the 2003 Spring Conference in Vancouver, BC. It is interesting to note that during the year of preliminary research, several other groups of coordinators had approached ARCS with an interest in certification/credentialing for their coordinators, namely, orthopedics, pediatric surgery, family medicine and radiology.

Outside of the undergraduate and graduate education formats, there are two ways to formally acknowledge a specific knowledge base or expertise in a focused area. This is by either certification or credentialing. Both processes entail studying a focused body of knowledge, demonstrating that the knowledge base has been learned, and achieving a mastery level that supports the formalization of the acceptance of the expertise. The basic difference between the two is that certification has legal implications and credentialing does not.

At the 2003 ARCS meeting, a formal presentation of the issue opened up discussion among the coordinators regarding whether or not to pursue this process. Some of the issues brought up encompassed potential costs involved, endorsing agencies and curriculum needs. There was also some discussion regarding the breadth of this project, i.e., to only involve surgery or to open it to other specialties.

Arguments in favor of this project included: 1) the additional knowledge and understanding of the Core Competencies and the work hours issues, necessitates the need for a coordinator with a higher set of skills and abilities; 2) the program directors need someone with more expertise to be supportive of their efforts to maintain a training program that meets all the requirements of the ACGME and other regulatory agencies; 3) a need for greater recognition of the level of work and knowledge needed, beyond that of a department secretary, to be a coordinator; 4) in the world of academia, indicators of expertise, such as letters after a name, have value; 5) professional development of the coordinator needs to be supported.

Arguments against the project included: 1) credentialing or certification is not going to change staffing or physical work environment needs; 2) concern for job security if a coordinator chooses not to become credentialed/certified; 3) the feeling that there would be a lack of department, program and/or program director support for the process, 4) the job is already being done without credentialing/certification.

The formal presentation ended with the topic tabled until the end of the conference. It was brought up again in the Open Forum for further discussion and vote. This allowed the conference participants time to think about the process and discuss it with their colleagues.

At the Open Forum, the topic was discussed more in depth. There were many statements of support given both by members who had originally been in favor of the project, and by members who had originally been against the project. The majority of the comments recognized that this process will lend credibility and expertise to the profession as it continues to develop.

When put to the vote, the ARCS membership voted in favor of pursuing the process of certification/credentialing for general surgery residency coordinators. A future goal would be to make this process available to coordinators throughout all specialties. A task force of 5 – 7 members will be put together in late July under the direction of Ruth Nawotniak (SUNY-Buffalo). A reminder notice will be sent via the list-serve to the ARCS membership asking for interested candidates for the task force. A letter of commitment will be required stating that the candidate has received support from his/her program director for the time needed to develop this project. The letter also must stipulate that the candidate is willing to personally support his/her participation with his/her own dollars or that the program will supply monetary support.

It is anticipated that this research process will take be at least 2 years, with a minimum of 2 meetings per year. It will be the charge of the task force to further research the type of process to be used – certification or credentialing – to propose to the membership, to design a full proposal for endorsement, and to determine the initial curriculum and the logistics for implementation. The task force will be reporting to the ARCS Steering Committee as well as the APDS as they progress through the development stages.

23 May 2006