It's me, hi!
(if you can't tell - I've been on a Taylor Swift loop all week.)

I'm going to let you in on a little secret: of the biggest and most repetitive pieces of feedback the ARAS EC gets after every conference is a variation of the statement "we always see the EC presenting" or "it's the same people that always present."

• Trust me. The EC gets it. But this happens because we don't get a lot of submissions.

I had a few ARAS members reach out and tell me that they are hesitant to submit an abstract because they don't want it rejected.

If you are going to put the time and effort into submitting an abstract - we will be accepting it to be presented in San Diego 2023

• If we aren't sure where it fits or the best way to present it - we will work with you on ideas so it will be a success!

Submit your idea/abstract here! http://www.arasurgery.org/abstract-form.html

If you need ideas on what your colleagues want to see - here's the feedback from 2022:

• More information regarding osteopathic surgery programs
• Fostering/teaching professionalism to our trainees
• Best practices for MedHub/NI/other RMS
• EPAs
• More "how we do it" sessions!
• Overcoming burnout/maintaining momentum
• Annual Program Evaluations
• Managing data - scholarly activity, PECs, etc. Maybe a panel to see how different programs (large/small) do it
• Learned best virtual recruitment practices over the past two years
• How to monitor and stay on top of potential issues before they turn into large problems
• Managing up! to new PDs, current PDs, etc.
• Navigating HR issues with trainees
• How can we make data work for us? Software breakout sessions?
• Back to basics for seasoned coordinators
• SOAP
• Remediation for the resident when the issue is professionalism
• Meeting the needs of the new generation of trainees - moving from lectures/powerpoints to more interactive experiences
• Working relationships with your PDs
• Managing change
• Creating career growth
• More personal stories from PC perspectives in this job

Let's see some new faces, ideas, inspiration, and all the things this year!
-B

Hello ARAS Friends!
It’s been a hot second – apologies for that! There’s a lot of new everything in my neck of the woods both personally and professionally. But I have a great crew on this ARAS EC year this year and they have been rock stars. As I write this – they are hard at work while I listen in via zoom planning a fantastic 2023 meeting.

Things you need to know as we ramp up into recruitment (as in things we need to do that don’t involve recruitment!):

ABS Roster due October 24th!

• Please make sure you cross check to make sure there aren’t any errors
• Residents identified in wrong graduation years/left off accidentally/etc. can affect ABSITE enrollment, ABS qualifying exam packet receipt, and it makes a lot of extra work for both you and the board.
• New this year: you can sort by PGY level! ABS reached out and asked us what they could fix now to make this task easier for us to cross check and we all said “sort by PGY level” because that’s how an administrator thinks when checking and making sure everyone is accounted for.
  
  

Get planning for Clinical Competency Committee (CCC) meeting(s)!

• If you don’t have your dates on a calendar yet – start working with your CCC chair(s) to get meetings scheduled and identify what data, you want pulled for the committee to make the most objective assessment possible.
• Remember – subjective vs. objective assessments:
  • Subjective: with bias, own opinion/interpretation
  • Objective: deciding based solely on the data in front of you

ARAS 2023

• We will be soliciting information from you all on what you want to see at ARAS 2023 as well as presenters
• We want to see you presenting!
  • Nervous about presenting alone? We will find you a presentation buddy!
    I am always willing to be a buddy!
• We will have ARAS panel sessions this year!
  • If you see a topic you feel confident in talking about with peers – sign up!
  • Topics to be voted on/announced soon!
• But seriously. We want to see you on the stage!
  • My goal this year is to see as many non EC member (current, that is) presenters/panelists as possible.
  • Please – reach out to me or any of the EC members if you want to present but have concerns/nerves/etc.  Again - we want to help!

Next up on the blog this week - introducing new Ad-Hoc and At-Large Members!

​-B

We are so grateful to have Dana Cooley and Stephanie Taylor join us on the ARAS Executive Committee. Two open committee spots post meeting isn't normal, but we are happy to have fresh eyes and faces working alongside us as we plan the 2023 San Diego Meeting!

Dana Cooley, C-TAGME, has been an administrator for 20 years. Her program director, Dr. Edleman, said the following about Dana in her recommendation letter:

Dana is a role model within our institution and promotes a healthy work environment. Other program administrators call her for advice and help with their roles. She is dependable, reliable, and always prepared. She is a forward thinking and demonstrates situational awareness as she is trying to solve problems before they can occur.

Stephanie Taylor joined the Department of Surgery at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore in April 2019. Her program Director, Dr. Feinman, said the following about Stephanie in her recommendation letter:

With a background in strategic planning, Stephanie brings novel ideas to help the residency continue to improve, including spearheading multiple wellness initiatives which have been very effective with improving the culture of our program. She is exceptionally organized, forward thinking, and efficient.

We can't wait to introduce you all to them in person in San Diego and we look forward to seeing the contributions they will make during our October planning meeting!

​-Brianne

​Please read the message below from the American Board of Surgery. 
The American Board of Surgery (ABS) announced in February 2022 the ABS Entrustable Professional Activities (EPA) Project, launching in July 2023 for general surgery residency programs.

As the ABS moves forward with this EPA initiative, one thing has become abundantly apparent - the feedback that we receive from participants is invaluable. Without this feedback, we have no way to know what is or is not working, where information is unclear, or what can be improved. Additionally, local champions who serve as promoters and exemplars for the project will be critical to its success. That's where you come in!

We are looking for program director, administrator, faculty and resident volunteers from each general surgery residency program to become an EPA Program Champion, serving as a local leader and liaison between your program and the ABS. These individuals will be our direct line of contact with your program, and we will rely on them to provide feedback on how the implementation of EPAs is going.
 
Until the implementation process begins, these individuals will serve as a ‘reactor panel’ to the various training documents and related materials that are being developed for use by programs.
To volunteer to be an ABS EPA Program Champion, please complete this form. 
 
Please also consider forwarding this email to your faculty and trainees for their consideration and hopeful participation.
 
If you have any questions, please contact [email protected]. 
 
Thank you.

As much as I love making newsletters on platforms to make them less boring than an email - the spam & junk filters for work are becoming too much and it's keeping what we create from getting to you. 

We are going to try to pilot using the website/blogging feature as a reliable way to get information to you. We will still e-blast you when a new post is up - but you can also click on the RSS Feed button in the right hand navigation column for instant alerts when new posts are live.

​-Brianne

​Thank you for attending our 2022 Annual Meeting! As a reminder, all APDS and ARAS general session recordings are available on the livestream site. To access meeting recordings, please use your login credentials from the Annual Meeting at the following link:

• https://www.sew2022.com/apds-login
  ​

Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if you have any trouble logging onto the livestream site or accessing the recordings.

Annual Meeting recordings will be available until September 4th, 2022.

​​GME TRACK/FREIDA

• September 30th, 2022: Deadline for the National GME Census and October FREIDA Listing
• December 16th, 2022: Final deadline for the National GME Census (both program and resident surveys)

​​​
ERAS 2023 RESIDENCY TIMELINE

• August 1 2022: Supplemental ERAS application opens for applicants
  
• September 7th 2022: Residency applicants can start loading applications at 9am EST
  
• September 16th 2022: Supplemental ERAS application window closes
  
• September 28th 2022: Residency programs gain access to PDWS

​APDS DATE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INTERVIEW OFFERS

• APDS strongly recommends sending interview offers out during the October 26th, 2022 - November 1st, 2022 window
• APDS strongly recommends allowing applicants 48 hours to respond to the offer
• APDS strongly recommends only offer the number of interviews available (don't over more invites than you have slots)