GNYHA recently hosted a webinar on resident remediation as part of its ongoing Faculty Development Series. Speakers from graduate medical education leadership and legal affairs departments shared perspectives and strategic approaches to the resident remediation process.
Jessica Smith, MD, Professor of Emergency Medicine and Clinician Educator at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University, discussed remediation terminology. “We need uniform terms,” she said. Her presentation focused on four key terms/stages of the remediation process: warning/informal remediation, formal remediation, probation, and termination. Dr. Smith reviewed recommendations on how to handle documentation and communication with the resident during the remediation process. She also recommended using the Milestones Guidebook and the Assessment Guidebook, which are available via the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education’s website to help with writing remediation plans.
Colleen McMahon, Vice President in the Office of Legal Affairs at Northwell Health, discussed the role of hospital counsel in working with faculty to pursue remediation for residents. Her presentation included learning when and how to apply the IRAC method, which stands for issue, rule, application, and conclusion. IRAC is a method of legal analysis.
Michael Leitman, MD, Designated Institutional Official (DIO) at Mount Sinai Health System, discussed the DIO’s perspective of the remediation process and noted the importance of offering consistent evaluation and feedback.
The program concluded with a virtual group exercise during which participants discussed remediation cases and shared remediation strategies.