Program Coordinator Corner – February 2018
Dawne M. Vowler, C-TAGME
Program Coordinator
Endocrinology & Metabolism Fellowship
University of Michigan
dvowler@med.umich.edu
734-615-6964
Opportunities for APDEM PCs
This PC Corner is different this month. Instead of sharing, I am asking. I am requesting three things:
- I am appealing for other Program Coordinators to contribute to this column.
- I am exploring the interest level among Endocrinology & Metabolism PCs to meet as a group at APDEM meetings;
- I am seeking volunteers to work with me to develop a national listserv of Endocrinology & Metabolism PCs, with the goal of creating a national networking group.
Point #1
I can personally write this column every month. There are endless topics to keep me, or any other PC for that matter, more than fully occupied for years. However, I strongly feel that input from various sources is better for all of us and provides us with more well-rounded viewpoints and material on which to consider new methods of accomplishing our jobs. Some fellowships are large and university-based, like mine. Others are smaller. Some are community based. Some are urban/suburban. Some are rural. Therefore, I think that those that write this column should represent all of our various institutional backgrounds, in order to bring all sorts of new ideas and exemplify our diverse learning environments and physical surroundings. (I want to thank Alex Stoller from the University of Washington for his contribution in December 2017 – excellent piece!)
With this in mind, I am urging all of the PCs reading this to volunteer to write a column. It can be about any topic germane to our jobs. You can contact me to talk about specifics. I have written four PC corners so far, including this one. The average time it takes me to write one is about an hour, plus about 15 minutes to come back to it and review/revise it a bit later. Therefore, time out of our very busy schedules is actually pretty minimal.
Point #2:
Hopefully, you received an invitation from APDEM to attend the APDEM Annual Meeting on Sunday, March 18, 2018, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at the McCormick Convention Center in Chicago, IL. This is a great step for us, as it recognizes Program Coordinators much more publically through APDEM, as other agencies such as APDIM, ACGME, and some other subspecialties are doing.
I wanted to see how many PCs were planning to attend this year. I understand that, with not a lot of notice, you may not be able to plan for it this year. However, we might be able to explore the possibility of attending and networking in future years.
Dr. Auchus, Program Director here at the University of Michigan, talked about the possibility of setting up teleconferencing capabilities, so we can attend via phone or webcast as well. If you are interested in this option, please let me know at dvowler@med.umich.edu
I think both in-person and teleconferencing are great options for us, and I encourage you to consider attending via one method or the other. However, at some point in the future, I hope we can all plan to meet in person, as networking in person cannot be replaced. Along that line, I am attending and presenting at ACGME in March. Others may be attending APDIM. If you are attending either of these conferences, please let me know. I can put together a list for each meeting and send it out to those involved. Perhaps we can set up informal meet and greets at one or both of these meetings.
Point #3:
I am very interested in setting up a national listserv of Endo PCs so that we can quickly and easily communicate with each other. I have not had the time to do this project myself. I have a pretty comprehensive list of PCs and PDs nationally. If you are interested in working with me on this or in taking the lead to get this completed, please let me know. Depending on your workload (and mine), I hope to have this done either in the next couple of months, or right after graduation/orientation. If there are more than one of you that volunteers, maybe we can have a committee for this project and others in the future. Thanks in advance!
I look forward to increased collaboration among the Endocrinology & Metabolism Program Coordinators in the future. The group can be as active as we choose to make it. Email me any time with ideas – I am always happy to hear from colleagues around the country!
Dawne