Association of Residency Administrators in Surgery
Recaps of Previous National Meetings by the Presiding President
2018 - The First Year for ARAS!
May 2018 was our first conference as the Association of Residency Administrators in Surgery!
Dr. Paul J. Schenarts welcomed one of the largest-attended meetings on day one. The theme this year was Leadership and Management of a Surgery Residency Program, which was evident throughout the meeting, and included a number of Professional Development sessions and workshops.
Mornings began with ARAS residency administrators leading discussions on relevant topics during breakfast and networking sessions that allowed members to meet others from their region of the country. ARAS was excited to be able to host our very first research presentation that included poster presentations from Hemali Shah, Medical Education Program Coordinator, University of Illinois at Chicago and Nicole Liles, Program Administrator General Surgery, Baylor, Scott & White.
As an organization we work hard to represent our members in all venues. It is exciting that this year Mrs. Lisa Olson will represent ARAS on the SAGES Resident and Fellow Training (RAFT) Committee. SAGES welcomed ARAS and stated that this should “enhance communication between our organizations.” ARAS Executive Committee members now have a voice with our key organizations: SCORE, ACS, ABS Summit, as well as the APDS Board of Directors Executive Committee. This allows us an opportunity to be an advocate for our members, as well as contribute to effective solutions. The ARAS Executive Committee remains dedicated to providing educational opportunities and tools for the advancement of the residency program administrator.
It was my honor and privilege to serve as ARAS President for the 2017-2018 term. My career has been dedicated to advancing the administrator’s position and this will remain my goal. I want to thank the Executive Committee for their support, hard work and guidance this year, as well as all of you. ARAS is an exceptionally strong organization. I look forward to seeing what the future holds.
S. Darlene Norton, C-TAGME
President, Association of Residency Administrators in Surgery
2017-2018
2017 - The Last Year for ARCS as we transitioned to ARAS!
San Diego, California
The 30th year for ARCS was held in sunny San Diego. We began our conference on Monday morning, April 17 at 8:00 am with a warm welcome to our new coordinators ranging from 1-3 years. As President of ARCS we began with an introduction from the Executive Committee and a welcome from the APDS President. To break the ice of nervousness, we thought we would have some fun. Dawn Fountain, C-TAGME and Donna Heyduk, C-TAGME put together Bingo Acronyms followed by a presentation from APDS Board Member Dr. Farin Amersi on Integrating Associate Program Directors into Surgical Education. After a brief break, I reviewed the Academic Year Timeline. We thought it would be best to highlight the critical topics within the timeline with further explanation: GME Track, Frieda, NRMP and ERAS by Susan Ratliff, C-TAGME; Recruitment by Donna Heyduk, C-TAGME; Orientation/Graduation by Jessica Roof; ACGME Case Logs and FEC, FLS, FUS, ATLS and Simulation by Darlene Norton, C-TAGME; ACGME, Web Ads, ABS Annual Updates and ABS Board Application – QE & CE by Chi Quach; Milestones and CCC Meetings by Jessica Roof; ABSITE by SuAnn White, C-TAGME and Program Evaluation Committee (PEC and Annual Program Evaluation (APE) by Dawn Fountain, C-TAGME. During the last hour of the day we divided everyone into years of services for questions and answers. Later that evening members participated in a Dutch Treat Dinner.
On Tuesday, April 18, we began the first day of the annual ARCS Conference with welcoming remarks and special announcements. Dr. Daniel Dent, President of APDS, San Antonio, TX gave his welcome to ARCS. Next on the agenda was the ARCS Keynote Speaker, Amy C. Day, MBA, Director of Graduate Medical Education School of Medicine Dean's Office University of California, San Francisco, CA. Ms. Day presenting "Herding Carts: Effectively Managing Others: Up, Down and Sideways!
American Board of Surgery Updates by Barbara Jalbert-Gerkens, American Board of Surgery, Philadelphia, PA. Score Updates by Mr. Mark Hickey, SCORE Chief Operating Officer. Following our lunch, the Newest Coordinator Award was given to Kylene Smartis, North Georgia Health System. Welcome Kylene!
Dawn Fountain C-TAGME, University of Kansas School of Medicine, Wichita, KS gave a sincere presentation regarding this year Project Bob Fundraiser "Girls on the Run". We exceeded our fundraising goal raising $595. A million thanks from everyone who participated and a special thank you to Dawn for heading Project Bob the last several years.
Resident Recruitment: Best Practices from Multiple Institutions; Sandy DelCoglin, C-TAGME, Christina Care Health System, Judy Olenwine, C-TAGME Lehigh Valley Health Network, Donna Guinto, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Juanita Braxton, C-TAGME, University of California, Gretchen Lynch, Florida Atlanta University.
This year we had two Breakout Sessions: Med Hub – Michael Benge, University of Colorado & Brianne Nickel, MA, Indiana University (Moderator Jessica Roof) and New Innovations – Laura Hook, Einstein Medical Center (Moderator Donna Heyduk, C-TAGME.)
We ended the day's session with FES Certification – Rules of Engagement and How a Community is Answering the Call: Carla Bryant, MHR, BA – SAGES; Jessica Mischna, BAA, FES, Kim Agretto, C-TAGME, Easton Hospital.
Later that evening ARCS had a special 30th Anniversary Celebration Reception and Dinner. Invocation was given by Dr. Lowell Chambers, Mount Carmel Health Columbus, Ohio.
Guest speakers included APDS President Daniel Dent and Donna Lamb Executive Director, Surgical Accreditation, RRC for Surgery. We had a wonderful dinner and lovely dessert selected by Tom Fise, Executive Director APDS. We ended the evening with a special trip down memory lane given by Historian and Past President of ARCS, Linda Shaffer, C-TAGME. All past Presidents and their Executive Committee where all recognized and a pearl necklace was given to the past Presidents as a token of appreciation for their leadership.
Wednesday, April 19 started out strong with TAGME Updates and the recognition of several new certified TAGME members from Linda Shaffer, C-TAGME Wester Virginia. SuAnn White, C-TAGME, University of Oklahoma gave the Mentor/Mentee Updates. The winner for this year's Mentor/Mentee award went to Lauren Hook from Einstein Philadelphia.
Every year, The Association of Residency Coordinators in Surgery recognizes one Coordinator, nominated by her program director and members of her residency who has consistently gone above and beyond. This year's winner was awarded a crystal plaque as an extra thank you for all that she has given to her program and to ARCS. She has been a program coordinator for 27 years and certified by TAGME. The letter I received from her program director mentioned her as "superlative, the back bone of our surgical education program, she has been a sister, a mother, a shoulder to cry on and taskmaster for her surgical residents". It was a pleasure to announce this year's winner of the Program Coordinator Recognition Award. Congratulations Sandy DelCoglin from Christina Care Newark, Delaware!
Using Electronic Formative Feedback – Quicknotes Dr. Lowell Chambers, MD Program Director, Mount Carmel Health System and Lillian Badurina, President ARCS, Mount Carmel Health System.
We resumed our program following the Presidential Address by Dr. Dan Dent with Can Resident Morale Make or Break Program? Alessandra Landman, MD, Jason Lees, MD, Arpit Patel, MD and SuAnn White, C-TAGME University of Oklahoma.
We had two very outstanding Professional Development Sessions: I am a Residency Coordinator...hear me roar! Darlene Norton, C-TAGME Greenville Health System and Jessica Roof Carolinas Health Care system. Our second PDS was Resident and Physician Wellbeing in General Surgery Amanda Bailey, DO and Linda Shaffer, C-TAGME West Virginal University.
It's always nice to hear from Dr. Donna Lamb Executive Director, Surgical Accreditation, RRC for Surgery with Updates and Announcement from ACGME and to close Thursday session was the results from our Research Outcomes of Survey by the 2016-2017 ARCS Executive Committee. Reporting for the EC was Darlene Norton, C-TAGME Greenville Health System and Susan Ratliff, C-TAGME Emory University. Another day comes to an end and we are off to the APDS/ASE/ARCS Joint Reception.
Our final day was Thursday April 20th with morning announcements from Lillian Badurina who introduced the 2017-2018 Executive Committee. As mentioned before we had our second professional development session that morning, attended the APDS Keynote Address and then our two final presenters took the stage; 360 Documentation of Adverse Action by Rhonda Peavy, Creighton University and Evaluation Compliance by Michael Benge, University of Colorado. Thank you to all our 2016-2017 presenters!
It has been a great honor to serve as your President of the Executive Committee of the Association of Residency Coordinators in Surgery. I have worked with so many loyal and compassionate administrators who have helped bridged our organization into the future. This year we have been successful in reaching so many milestones. Thank you to APDS for approving our request to change the name of our organization to the Association of Program Administrator in Surgery. Thank you to all the members who participated in our first survey and our first presentation of our results to the Association of Program Directors and members of ARCS. We submitted our first manuscript and it has been accepted for publication to the Journal of Surgical Education which should appear in the November issue and we had a wonderful celebration for the 30th Anniversary of ARCS. In closing, I would like to personally thank each member of the Executive Committee who helped me lead the way to new beginnings and their dedication and hard work to make a successful program in San Diego. Finally, I would like to thank the Mount Carmel Health Department of Surgery Residency for their encouragement and support they have given these last five years. I would also like to thank Dr. Thomas Hartranft (my former Program Director), Dr. Lowell Chambers (my current Program Director), and David Aufdencamp, GME Operations for offering their support and to my family who is very proud of my accomplishments. I have met so many friends that I will cherish forever. I hope to see you all in Austin in 2018!
Lillian Badurina
President, Association of Residency Administrators in Surgery
2016-2017
May 2018 was our first conference as the Association of Residency Administrators in Surgery!
Dr. Paul J. Schenarts welcomed one of the largest-attended meetings on day one. The theme this year was Leadership and Management of a Surgery Residency Program, which was evident throughout the meeting, and included a number of Professional Development sessions and workshops.
Mornings began with ARAS residency administrators leading discussions on relevant topics during breakfast and networking sessions that allowed members to meet others from their region of the country. ARAS was excited to be able to host our very first research presentation that included poster presentations from Hemali Shah, Medical Education Program Coordinator, University of Illinois at Chicago and Nicole Liles, Program Administrator General Surgery, Baylor, Scott & White.
As an organization we work hard to represent our members in all venues. It is exciting that this year Mrs. Lisa Olson will represent ARAS on the SAGES Resident and Fellow Training (RAFT) Committee. SAGES welcomed ARAS and stated that this should “enhance communication between our organizations.” ARAS Executive Committee members now have a voice with our key organizations: SCORE, ACS, ABS Summit, as well as the APDS Board of Directors Executive Committee. This allows us an opportunity to be an advocate for our members, as well as contribute to effective solutions. The ARAS Executive Committee remains dedicated to providing educational opportunities and tools for the advancement of the residency program administrator.
It was my honor and privilege to serve as ARAS President for the 2017-2018 term. My career has been dedicated to advancing the administrator’s position and this will remain my goal. I want to thank the Executive Committee for their support, hard work and guidance this year, as well as all of you. ARAS is an exceptionally strong organization. I look forward to seeing what the future holds.
S. Darlene Norton, C-TAGME
President, Association of Residency Administrators in Surgery
2017-2018
2017 - The Last Year for ARCS as we transitioned to ARAS!
San Diego, California
The 30th year for ARCS was held in sunny San Diego. We began our conference on Monday morning, April 17 at 8:00 am with a warm welcome to our new coordinators ranging from 1-3 years. As President of ARCS we began with an introduction from the Executive Committee and a welcome from the APDS President. To break the ice of nervousness, we thought we would have some fun. Dawn Fountain, C-TAGME and Donna Heyduk, C-TAGME put together Bingo Acronyms followed by a presentation from APDS Board Member Dr. Farin Amersi on Integrating Associate Program Directors into Surgical Education. After a brief break, I reviewed the Academic Year Timeline. We thought it would be best to highlight the critical topics within the timeline with further explanation: GME Track, Frieda, NRMP and ERAS by Susan Ratliff, C-TAGME; Recruitment by Donna Heyduk, C-TAGME; Orientation/Graduation by Jessica Roof; ACGME Case Logs and FEC, FLS, FUS, ATLS and Simulation by Darlene Norton, C-TAGME; ACGME, Web Ads, ABS Annual Updates and ABS Board Application – QE & CE by Chi Quach; Milestones and CCC Meetings by Jessica Roof; ABSITE by SuAnn White, C-TAGME and Program Evaluation Committee (PEC and Annual Program Evaluation (APE) by Dawn Fountain, C-TAGME. During the last hour of the day we divided everyone into years of services for questions and answers. Later that evening members participated in a Dutch Treat Dinner.
On Tuesday, April 18, we began the first day of the annual ARCS Conference with welcoming remarks and special announcements. Dr. Daniel Dent, President of APDS, San Antonio, TX gave his welcome to ARCS. Next on the agenda was the ARCS Keynote Speaker, Amy C. Day, MBA, Director of Graduate Medical Education School of Medicine Dean's Office University of California, San Francisco, CA. Ms. Day presenting "Herding Carts: Effectively Managing Others: Up, Down and Sideways!
American Board of Surgery Updates by Barbara Jalbert-Gerkens, American Board of Surgery, Philadelphia, PA. Score Updates by Mr. Mark Hickey, SCORE Chief Operating Officer. Following our lunch, the Newest Coordinator Award was given to Kylene Smartis, North Georgia Health System. Welcome Kylene!
Dawn Fountain C-TAGME, University of Kansas School of Medicine, Wichita, KS gave a sincere presentation regarding this year Project Bob Fundraiser "Girls on the Run". We exceeded our fundraising goal raising $595. A million thanks from everyone who participated and a special thank you to Dawn for heading Project Bob the last several years.
Resident Recruitment: Best Practices from Multiple Institutions; Sandy DelCoglin, C-TAGME, Christina Care Health System, Judy Olenwine, C-TAGME Lehigh Valley Health Network, Donna Guinto, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Juanita Braxton, C-TAGME, University of California, Gretchen Lynch, Florida Atlanta University.
This year we had two Breakout Sessions: Med Hub – Michael Benge, University of Colorado & Brianne Nickel, MA, Indiana University (Moderator Jessica Roof) and New Innovations – Laura Hook, Einstein Medical Center (Moderator Donna Heyduk, C-TAGME.)
We ended the day's session with FES Certification – Rules of Engagement and How a Community is Answering the Call: Carla Bryant, MHR, BA – SAGES; Jessica Mischna, BAA, FES, Kim Agretto, C-TAGME, Easton Hospital.
Later that evening ARCS had a special 30th Anniversary Celebration Reception and Dinner. Invocation was given by Dr. Lowell Chambers, Mount Carmel Health Columbus, Ohio.
Guest speakers included APDS President Daniel Dent and Donna Lamb Executive Director, Surgical Accreditation, RRC for Surgery. We had a wonderful dinner and lovely dessert selected by Tom Fise, Executive Director APDS. We ended the evening with a special trip down memory lane given by Historian and Past President of ARCS, Linda Shaffer, C-TAGME. All past Presidents and their Executive Committee where all recognized and a pearl necklace was given to the past Presidents as a token of appreciation for their leadership.
Wednesday, April 19 started out strong with TAGME Updates and the recognition of several new certified TAGME members from Linda Shaffer, C-TAGME Wester Virginia. SuAnn White, C-TAGME, University of Oklahoma gave the Mentor/Mentee Updates. The winner for this year's Mentor/Mentee award went to Lauren Hook from Einstein Philadelphia.
Every year, The Association of Residency Coordinators in Surgery recognizes one Coordinator, nominated by her program director and members of her residency who has consistently gone above and beyond. This year's winner was awarded a crystal plaque as an extra thank you for all that she has given to her program and to ARCS. She has been a program coordinator for 27 years and certified by TAGME. The letter I received from her program director mentioned her as "superlative, the back bone of our surgical education program, she has been a sister, a mother, a shoulder to cry on and taskmaster for her surgical residents". It was a pleasure to announce this year's winner of the Program Coordinator Recognition Award. Congratulations Sandy DelCoglin from Christina Care Newark, Delaware!
Using Electronic Formative Feedback – Quicknotes Dr. Lowell Chambers, MD Program Director, Mount Carmel Health System and Lillian Badurina, President ARCS, Mount Carmel Health System.
We resumed our program following the Presidential Address by Dr. Dan Dent with Can Resident Morale Make or Break Program? Alessandra Landman, MD, Jason Lees, MD, Arpit Patel, MD and SuAnn White, C-TAGME University of Oklahoma.
We had two very outstanding Professional Development Sessions: I am a Residency Coordinator...hear me roar! Darlene Norton, C-TAGME Greenville Health System and Jessica Roof Carolinas Health Care system. Our second PDS was Resident and Physician Wellbeing in General Surgery Amanda Bailey, DO and Linda Shaffer, C-TAGME West Virginal University.
It's always nice to hear from Dr. Donna Lamb Executive Director, Surgical Accreditation, RRC for Surgery with Updates and Announcement from ACGME and to close Thursday session was the results from our Research Outcomes of Survey by the 2016-2017 ARCS Executive Committee. Reporting for the EC was Darlene Norton, C-TAGME Greenville Health System and Susan Ratliff, C-TAGME Emory University. Another day comes to an end and we are off to the APDS/ASE/ARCS Joint Reception.
Our final day was Thursday April 20th with morning announcements from Lillian Badurina who introduced the 2017-2018 Executive Committee. As mentioned before we had our second professional development session that morning, attended the APDS Keynote Address and then our two final presenters took the stage; 360 Documentation of Adverse Action by Rhonda Peavy, Creighton University and Evaluation Compliance by Michael Benge, University of Colorado. Thank you to all our 2016-2017 presenters!
It has been a great honor to serve as your President of the Executive Committee of the Association of Residency Coordinators in Surgery. I have worked with so many loyal and compassionate administrators who have helped bridged our organization into the future. This year we have been successful in reaching so many milestones. Thank you to APDS for approving our request to change the name of our organization to the Association of Program Administrator in Surgery. Thank you to all the members who participated in our first survey and our first presentation of our results to the Association of Program Directors and members of ARCS. We submitted our first manuscript and it has been accepted for publication to the Journal of Surgical Education which should appear in the November issue and we had a wonderful celebration for the 30th Anniversary of ARCS. In closing, I would like to personally thank each member of the Executive Committee who helped me lead the way to new beginnings and their dedication and hard work to make a successful program in San Diego. Finally, I would like to thank the Mount Carmel Health Department of Surgery Residency for their encouragement and support they have given these last five years. I would also like to thank Dr. Thomas Hartranft (my former Program Director), Dr. Lowell Chambers (my current Program Director), and David Aufdencamp, GME Operations for offering their support and to my family who is very proud of my accomplishments. I have met so many friends that I will cherish forever. I hope to see you all in Austin in 2018!
Lillian Badurina
President, Association of Residency Administrators in Surgery
2016-2017
