RD RAP program graduates second class

Fellowship certificate program aids in strengthening skills, knowledge

(ATHENS, Ohio) The Residency Directors’ Residency Administration Program (RD RAP) graduated its second class on June 18, after a two-day session that focused on leadership, administration and professional development.

The year-long fellowship certificate program is designed to provide Ohio residency directors with the opportunity to strengthen their knowledge and skills to be effective and successful leaders of their programs and trainees.

According to Olivia Ojano-Sheehan, Ph.D., assistant director of CORE Faculty Development and assistant family medicine professor at Ohio University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine (OU-COM), the RD RAP is unique and different from national specialty-specific faculty development programs that residency directors attend because of its administration-focused blended curriculum and it lasts an entire year, not just one day. Sheehan believes that RD RAP is “the answer to the challenge of residency directors’ succession planning.”

The learning objectives for the RD RAP fall into two categories, administration and education. To fulfill the administration objective, sessions addressed how environmental, economic, and political pressures affect residency programs and training, the formal structures of, and relationship between, organizations the RDs serve (residency program or hospital for example). RDs also discuss the importance of participating in and providing leadership for small and large group academic tasks, like planning residency programs, conducting strategic plans, or serving on committees. Participants learn to manage themselves, others, money, and time on various projects and programs.

To fulfill the education objective, sessions addressed how to design curricula (educational programs, courses, and presentations) with the appropriate scope, sequence, and focus for intended learning using a systematic approach. Sessions also covered methods for teaching individual and small groups, as well as methods of trainee performance assessment and evaluation methods for program effectiveness.

Participants signed a learning contract in which they agreed to attend all sessions and complete all learning activities, assignments and testing sessions, Ojano-Sheehan said. Also, three fellows from the first class in 2009-2010 -- Ronald Russ, D.O., Schield Wikas, D.O., and Andrew Filiatraut, D.O. – served as faculty for the second class, she said.

The first year of the RD RAP was funded by grants from the CORE New Initiative Fund and Cuyahoga Falls General Hospital Foundation. Year two was funded solely by the CORE New Initiative Fund.

The participants in the second class represented four CORE hospitals and programs including family medicine, emergency medicine, orthopedic surgery, otorhinolarygology and podiatry.

Fellows who graduated from 2010-2011 class include:

• Mark Brigham, D.O., Affinity Medical Center
• Michael Elrod, D.O., Grandview Medical Center
• Michael Jurenovich, D.O., St. Joseph Health Center
• Michael Pallaci, D.O., Grandview Medical Center
• Clay Seiple, D.O., Summa Western Reserve Hospital

Dr. Aaron Chokan, D.O., of Summa Western Reserve Hospital and who was a member of the first class in 2009-2010, received his certificate during the graduation.

Course topics included:

• Role of the Program Director
• Leading and Personality Type
• Leading in a Sea of Change
• Leadership 101
• Strategic Planning
• Preparing for a PIR and Program Inspection
• Selecting Residents that Fit the Program
• Understanding the Millennial Learners
• Performance Metrics and Remediation
• Legal Issues in Residency Training
• Managing Time and Meetings
• GME Financing
• Understanding the Basic Standards
• Technology and the Program Director
• Teaching Role of the Program Director
• Learning-Centered Mentoring