Establishing a residency program requires a significant investment of resources, starting with identifying hospital sites. Even where there is mutual interest and an identified need, meeting the extensive requirements for patient volume, ambulatory care, and specialty exposure dictated by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) takes thorough consideration. Some facilities lack the diversity of care experience on their own, and must join forces with a local partner, adding further complexity. Most importantly, even for the most vibrant hospital, is to have proven dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as strong ties to its community, with local leaders who will greet the program with open arms, affirming, "Yes, please, please do this!"
Another consideration is capacity for program leadership and faculty. For a resource-strapped hospital in an underserved community, recruiting experienced physicians to mentor and evaluate residents is a tall order. The process has to include evidence from the field that a strong residency program will enhance, rather than burden, the quality and quantity of care at the facility. It must demonstrate the depth of tools and support available from the Morehouse School of Medicine to help build capacity and confidence. And it must inspire chronically overworked professionals as to the immediate rewards and future necessity of growing their own pipeline of future colleagues.
As with the undergraduate medical education initiatives, the strategy to expand graduate medical education is supported by a detailed playbook of tasks, summarized below, for the roughly three-year process from site identification through program evaluation:
Conduct collaborative analysis of potential facility sites based on mission alignment, educational capacity, community need, specialty/subspecialty opportunity, and resource requirements.
Convene implementation committee, identify key MSM and hospital site contacts, create application timeline, and distribute application requirements for efficient accreditation process.
Identify, recruit, and prepare program director, coordinator, and core faculty with program strategy and assessment tools.
Confirm and formalize leadership and scheduling for learning experiences at designated facility services and sites.
Create rotation goals and objectives and confirm site visit activities to conduct mock site visit.
Establish committee and processes, solicit applications, review applicants, and select residents.
Specific welcome activities and introduction to communication systems, facility access, and community resources.
Analyze anonymized and aggregated assessment data to identify and report opportunities for improvement in compliance with ACGME requirements and toward future growth and expansion.