John Madara, MD wanted to find a way to improve incoming residents’ ability to identify and mitigate patient safety hazards, address these hazards through teamwork and collaboration, and report safety events using an online event reporting system. Dr. Madara, the chief fellow in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, worked with others to create an interactive, competitive “escape room” themed environment to stimulate learning and teamwork. His poster, Patient Safety Escape!: Engaging Residents in Patient Safety Education and Event Reporting, reports on the activity and its effectiveness in teaching residents about patient safety and online reporting procedures.

A panel of institutional representatives and ACGME leaders discussed the successes and challenges of actively involving residents in patient safety improvement as part of the ACGME’s Pursuing Excellence in Clinical Learning Environments (Pursuing Excellence) initiative. The panel convened at a sunset session at the 2019 ACGME Annual Educational Conference.

Dr. Ashraf Mohamed El Ghul, is the designated institutional official (DIO) and Internal Medicine Residency Program Director at Mafraq Hospital in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). His institution’s and program’s experience with ACGME International brought him to the 2019 ACGME Annual Educational Conference and we asked him to share his experience.

The ACGME’s and medical community’s prioritization of physician well-being made the issue a central of theme at the 2018 Annual Educational Conference. Gender-Specific Challenges in Burnout, a session led by speakers Carol Bernstein, MD and Kimberly Templeton, MD, explored a variety of factors that contribute specifically to the risk of burnout and differences between what men and women face in this arena.

A guest post from Dr. Ali Mendelson spotlights how participating in the ACGME's Back to Bedside initiative has added value to her fellowship and clinical experience in hospice and palliative medicine.

The ACGME is committed to supporting graduate medical education programs to develop a Culture of Well-Being, not just the absence of burnout and depression. The central feature in this culture is the well-being of all members of the health care team, including faculty and staff members, and residents and fellows.

Tiffany Moss, MBA is the ACGME’s Executive Director, Osteopathic Accreditation, overseeing the administration of and providing staff support to the Osteopathic Principles Committee and the Review Committee for Osteopathic Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine. At the 2018 Annual Educational Conference she presented or co-presented three sessions. We asked her to share her experience and tell us about herself and her role at the conference.

Juanita Braxton, PhD is the Administrative Manager for Surgical Education at University of California Davis Health in Sacramento, California. She is also a charter member of the ACGME’s Coordinator Advisory Group, which was formed in 2016 to serve as a consultative body to the ACGME administration concerning coordinator, GME, learning environment, and accreditation matters. Dr. Braxton presented PC005, Inspiring Minds – Cultivating Success, at the Coordinator Forum during the pre-conferences to the Annual Educational Conference Thursday, March 1.