Osteopathic Educational Continuum

Osteopathic Educational Continuum

In accordance with the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) Element 10.1, Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (LUCOM) is committed to ensuring that its curriculum is consistent with its mission and provides the content of sufficient breadth and depth to prepare students for entry into a graduate medical education program for the subsequent practice of medicine1. LUCOM has policies, procedures, personnel, and budgetary resources to support the continuum of osteopathic medicine. This policy describes the practices and procedures to support the continuum of osteopathic medical education at LUCOM.

Procedure

Section I: Introduction

  1. Purpose of Graduate Medical Education (GME)
    The purpose of GME is to provide an organized educational program with guidance and supervision of the resident/fellow, facilitating the resident/fellow's ethical, professional, and personal development while ensuring safe and appropriate care for patients. LUCOM fully supports the mission of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) “to improve health care and population health by assessing and advancing the quality of resident physicians' education through accreditation.” LUCOM accomplishes this through its collaboration with LUCOM Graduate Medical Education Services (LUCOM GMES), which serves as an institutional sponsor of GME.

  2. Sponsoring Institution
    ACGME accredited GME programs must operate under the authority and control of one sponsoring institution. The sponsoring institution must be appropriately organized for the conduct of graduate medical education in a scholarly environment and must be committed to excellence in both medical education and patient care in order to fulfill its responsibility for oversight of activities related to patient safety, quality improvement, transitions of care, supervision, duty hours, fatigue management and mitigation, and professionalism. Oversight of the residents/fellows’ assignments and the quality of the learning and working environment by the Sponsoring Institution extends to all participating sites. In the pursuit of supporting the continuum of osteopathic education, LUCOM collaborates with LUCOM GMES, which serves as an institutional sponsor of GME. LUCOM GMES provides the necessary support for the provision of leadership, administration, organizational structure, clinical support, as well as the necessary educational, financial, and human resources, to support the GME to be provided at levels required to achieve and maintain compliance with the ACGME Institutional Requirements. Additional services provided by LUCOM, LUCOM GMES, and other collaborative partners include, but is not limited to:

    1. Accreditation support and training

      1. Periodic site visits and mock reviews

      2. Guidance on effective structure of GME Committee

      3. Coordinator training and development of programs

      4. Designated Institutional Official (DIO) services

    2. Faculty development and support

      1. Enhanced learning resources and electronic library access

      2. Access to simulation training

      3. Preceptor Continuing Medical Education (CME) and development

      4. Didactic support

  3. Compliance with ACGME Requirements, Policies, and Procedures
    LUCOM supports GME programs through collaboration with LUCOM GMES, which serves as an institutional sponsor of GME. LUCOM GMES, must be in substantial compliance with the ACGME Institutional Requirements and must ensure that their ACGME accredited programs are in substantial compliance with Common Program Requirements, and specialty-specific Program Requirements. A sponsoring institution's failure to comply substantially with the Institutional Requirements and maintain accreditation will jeopardize the accreditation of all of its sponsored ACGME-accredited programs. Program Directors, core and other teaching faculty, and administrative staff should review the ACGME Institutional Requirements, Program Requirements, Policies and Procedures located on the ACGME website at www.acgme.org. These accreditation requirements are updated frequently by the ACGME, and the ACGME website should be reviewed periodically for the most current requirements in effect.

Section II: Institutional Responsibilities

  1. Commitment to Undergraduate Medical Education2
    LUCOM’s mission and corresponding goals are to provide students with an osteopathic medical education that emphasizes primary care, encourages research, promotes lifelong scholarly activity, and produces graduates who are committed to serving the healthcare needs of underserved communities in Lynchburg, the Virginia Tobacco Region, and across the nation. As such, LUCOM emphasizes the importance of the osteopathic focus in all its educational efforts. The academic and clinical deans, Executive Curriculum Committee, and all other appropriate designees are charged with overseeing and executing all osteopathic education associated with LUCOM throughout the educational continuum. LUCOM provides an integrative osteopathic education throughout a student’s educational journey that is sustained by the allocation of funding, administrative support, personnel, and resources.

    In the pre-clerkship years, knowledge and skills are assessed through written examinations; observation of performance during laboratory sessions; and structured evaluations of diagnostic treatment, knowledge, and skills taught through patient-focused courses (Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine and Patient Centered Medicine). In the clerkship years, clinical competence is evaluated by faculty and evaluations at the end of each rotation. Requirements for the incorporation and application of therapeutic and osteopathic principles are incorporated in clinical rotation syllabi, assigned readings, case-based modules, and through the required core rotations, including the OMS-III OMM rotation. Clerkship competency is additionally measured through assessments utilizing standardized patients and a COMAT examination.

  2. Commitment to Graduate Medical Education
    The administrative staff, teaching faculty, and medical staff of LUCOM and LUCOM GMES are committed to excellence in medical education and providing the necessary support for administrative, educational, clinical, and human resources to support growth of GME. This commitment is demonstrated through the provision of leadership, an organizational structure, and resources necessary to achieve substantial compliance with ACGME Institutional Requirements, implement and develop sponsored programs, and enable its ACGME-accredited programs to achieve substantial compliance with ACGME Program Requirements. LUCOM GMES is committed to promoting safe and appropriate patient care and providing an ethical, professional, and educational environment in which the curricular requirements, as well as the applicable requirements for the residents/fellows' work environment, scholarly activity, personal development, and the general competencies can be met. The regular assessment of the quality of the educational programs, the performance of its residents/fellows, the supervision of its residents/fellows, and the use of outcome assessment results for program improvement are essential components of the institution's commitment to GME.

  3. Administration of Graduate Medical Education

    1. LUCOM’s Office of Clinical Affairs and Graduate Medical Education: This office serves as an administrative support unit affiliated with sponsoring institutions’ residency programs and residents/fellows, in the administration and oversight of all activities related to graduate medical education. The office is under the direction of the LUCOM’s appropriate dean associated with Clinical Affairs and GME, who serves as a liaison with residency programs, residents/fellows, and affiliated institutions, as well as departments responsible for providing ancillary and support services for the graduate medical education programs.

    2. LUCOM GMES Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC): LUCOM GMES will maintain a GMEC to provide the necessary support and resources to allow for effective delivery of shared services to all affiliated ACGME-accredited programs. LUCOM GMES’ GMEC will be comprised of key LUCOM clinical faculty as well as senior staff necessary for the delivery of shared services. As a sponsoring institution, LUCOM GMES’ GMEC includes the ACGME required positions of the DIO and Program Director(s), as well as others necessary to support the training programs and fulfill ACGME requirements.

    3. Designated Institutional Official (DIO): Each sponsoring institution must appoint a DIO, the individual who, in collaboration with a Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC), must have authority and responsibility for the oversight and administration of each of the Sponsoring Institution’s ACGME-accredited programs, as well as for ensuring compliance with the ACGME Institutional, Common, and specialty/subspecialty-specific Program Requirements.

  4. Commitment to Continuing Medical Education
    The provision of Continuing Medical Education (CME) allows a practitioner to learn and discover viable ways to improve on the patient care they deliver and effectively manage a career in the ever-changing landscape of the medical industry. In its support of the osteopathic continuum of osteopathic education, LUCOM is an American Osteopathic Association (AOA) Category I CME sponsor accredited by the AOA Bureau of Osteopathic Education Council on Continuing Medical Education (CCME) to present programs that qualify for AOA category 1 credit. Additionally, the LUCOM is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians, which affords opportunities to offer AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM for selected CME activities. LUCOM’s provision of CME activities aligns with its commitment to prepare outstanding osteopathic physicians who are committed to providing care and corresponding services to their fellow man. Planned educational programs will focus on the medical education of preceptors in addition to health and wellness needs of people within the Tobacco Region and beyond while emphasizing primary care for rural communities.

GME Policies and Mechanisms of Support3

The administration, faculty, and staff of Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (and its parent institution – Liberty University) are committed to excellence in medical education and providing the necessary financial support for administrative, educational, clinical, and human resources to support and provide oversight to LUCOM Graduate Medical Education Services (LUCOM GMES). This commitment is demonstrated through the provision of leadership, an organizational structure, and resources necessary to achieve the development and maintenance of sponsored programs that are in compliance with ACGME Institutional Requirements.

Specifically, the Office of Clinical Education and Graduate Medical Education is charged with developing new Graduate Medical Education (GME) programs and assists existing GME programs in meeting and maintaining specialty programs in addition to providing support for the addition of faculty to develop curriculum to attain osteopathic recognition accreditation by the ACGME.

  1. Policy for developing new GME programs
    The Office of Clinical Education and Graduate Medical Education actively seek residency development as an ongoing activity. Institutional representatives meet with potential collaborators to discuss and create new GME programs. New programs may contract with LUCOM GMES as their ACGME institutional sponsor or for residency educational and administrative support from LUCOM GMES while using their own institutional sponsor. LUCOM GMES assists new and developing programs with ACGME accreditation and administrative and educational support.

  2. Mechanisms for developing new GME programs
    LUCOM Clinical Education leadership in conjunction with LUCOM GMES, oversee the development of new GME programs, while assisting in the continual growth of existing GME programs. The development of new GME programs often, but is not required to, begins with undergraduate site selection, infrastructure development, and faculty development with LUCOM GMES. LUCOM GMES and local site leadership establish the infrastructure needed to apply for ACGME accreditation. LUCOM GMES submits the application for initial accreditation for ACGME, assists with selection of faculty and Program Director(s), and works with the appointed Program Director(s) to develop the curriculum and schedules, within ACGME guidelines. LUCOM GMES attends ACGME site inspection and works with local leaders to gain and maintain program accreditation.  

  3. Policy for assisting existing GME programs
    LUCOM is committed to promoting safe, evidence-based, patient-centered care and providing an ethical, professional, and educational environment towards meeting the curricular requirements, as well as the applicable requirements for the residents/fellows’ work environment, scholarly activity, personal development, and the general competencies. The regular assessment of the quality of the educational programs, the performance of its residents/fellows, the supervision of its residents/fellows, and the use of outcome assessment results for program improvement are essential components of the institution's commitment to GME. Additionally, existing GME programs are afforded the necessary financial and administrative support for carrying out all daily operations.

  4. Mechanisms for assisting existing GME programs
    Budgetary and other likewise resources are allocated to existing GME programs on an annual basis. The support of existing GME programs often begins and is maintained with program evaluations completed by the leadership of both LUCOM’s Clinical Education and LUCOM GMES in addition to other designees, if applicable, appointed by the Dean. The key component of these evaluations are to determine the allocation of necessary and appropriate resources, which will be recommended and then ratified by the Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC).

1

10.1 Osteopathic Educational Continuum

2

6.1 Curriculum Design and Management

3

10.2 Accredited GME, 10.3 Osteopathic Recognition GME

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