COCA proposes new accreditation standards

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futuredoc15

futuredoc15

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8.3 (NEW) The COM must develop a GME
adequacy model appropriate to the COM's
mission and objectives. The method used to
calculate the model must be fully described and
documented. The model must demonstrate the
number of graduates entering GME, the positions
available in the school's affiliated OPTI, the
historic percentage of NRMP vs. AOA match
participation, final placement, the
number/percentage of students unsuccessful in
the matches, and the residency choices of its​
graduates.
8.3.1 (NEW) Schools must place at least 98% of
students who are eligible and wish to enter GME
in GME positions and account for graduates who
did not enter GME on a yearly basis and track​

their future status
8.5 (NEW)
The COM must annually report, from the
previous four academic years, the following data
on its website, in its catalog, and in all COM
promotional publications printed for the purpose
of soliciting students :
a) The number of students from each
graduating class who either obtained or
were offered placement in a graduate
medical education program accredited by
the American Osteopathic Association or
the Accreditation Council for Graduate
Medical Education and the number of
students from each graduating class who
were unable to obtain placement in an
accredited graduate medical program.
b) The pass rate of its graduates for either
the COMLEX-USA Level 3 or other final
stage licensure exam.
c) The percentage of graduates from each
class who have obtained licenses to​
practice medicine in the United States.

http://www.osteopathic.org/inside-a...ions-to-Standards-Jan-2012- with-Cvr-Memo.pdf

Will be interesting to see if these proposed new standards are enacted

Members don't see this ad.
 
8.3.1 interests me the most... that is the biggest con for opening new schools currently, in my opinion.
 
It is about time.

IF this passes it would finally make schools responsible for making sure the students they graduate can actually practice medicine.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Let's hope COCA sees the handwriting on the wall.
 
These all seem good if enacted. But 8.3 is kinda vague to me, I really hope it means that if a new school opens up it must also open up the same amount of GME spots with it. i.e. if a new COM opens up for 200 students, it must also have 200 NEW GME spots created by the time its first graduating class graduates. Either way I suppose it will still encourage and facilitate more GME spots for the D.O. grads, but obviously the optimal thing would be that they create the same amount of GME spots as the amount of students they are graduating.

Thoughts?
 
8.3 is way to vague to actually mean anything at all. So, I don't think it is saying that new medical schools need to come up with enough residency spots.
 
Is COCA trying to limit the # of new schools?

If so, wouldn't it be easier to simply have requirements for certain levels of NIH funding and attached teaching hospitals?
 
Good attempt to give new schools more regulations and improve new graduates' matching chances.
 
Maybe the force is not really so weak with COCA
 
That doesn't really seem like much in the way of accreditation standards...
 
Members don't see this ad :)
This has kinda rekindled my hope for the DO profession, so basically unless new and old schools add sufficient residency spots they aren't going to be opened or accredited?
 
reporting the step 3 pass rate seems stupid. thats taken after graduation, usually partway into the start of your 2nd residency year.

i do like everything else. The 8.3.1 just means if they enroll 200 students they need to prove there are about 90 AOA spots that are available within their OPTI. (since ~50% go to AOA residencies, its considered a statistical given that ACGME spots are in excess currently, and you lose about 2-5% of your enrolling class on average). Its a hurdle, but not a really big one given all the caveats they put into the 8.3.1 clause.
 
futuredoc15 said:
8.3 (NEW) The COM must develop a GME
adequacy model appropriate to the COM’s
mission and objectives. The method used to
calculate the model must be fully described and
documented. The model must demonstrate the
number of graduates entering GME, the positions
available in the school’s affiliated OPTI, the
historic percentage of NRMP vs. AOA match
participation, final placement, the
number/percentage of students unsuccessful in
the matches, and the residency choices of its​
graduates.
8.3.1 (NEW) Schools must place at least 98% of
students who are eligible and wish to enter GME
in GME positions and account for graduates who
did not enter GME on a yearly basis and track​

their future status
8.5 (NEW)
The COM must annually report, from the
previous four academic years, the following data
on its website, in its catalog, and in all COM
promotional publications printed for the purpose
of soliciting students :
a) The number of students from each
graduating class who either obtained or
were offered placement in a graduate
medical education program accredited by
the American Osteopathic Association or
the Accreditation Council for Graduate
Medical Education and the number of
students from each graduating class who
were unable to obtain placement in an
accredited graduate medical program.
b) The pass rate of its graduates for either
the COMLEX-USA Level 3 or other final
stage licensure exam.
c) The percentage of graduates from each
class who have obtained licenses to​
practice medicine in the United States.

http://www.osteopathic.org/inside-a...ions-to-Standards-Jan-2012- with-Cvr-Memo.pdf

Will be interesting to see if these proposed new standards are enacted
Click to expand...

DocEspana said:
reporting the step 3 pass rate seems stupid. thats taken after graduation, usually partway into the start of your 2nd residency year.

i do like everything else. The 8.3.1 just means if they enroll 200 students they need to prove there are about 90 AOA spots that are available within their OPTI. (since ~50% go to AOA residencies, its considered a statistical given that ACGME spots are in excess currently, and you lose about 2-5% of your enrolling class on average). Its a hurdle, but not a really big one given all the caveats they put into the 8.3.1 clause.
Click to expand...

I think you're talking about 8.3, not 8.3.1. 8.3.1 states that they have to track how many graduates actually match. Which is definitely a HUGE step in the right direction IMO.
 
HockeyDr09 said:
I think you're talking about 8.3, not 8.3.1. 8.3.1 states that they have to track how many graduates actually match. Which is definitely a HUGE step in the right direction IMO.
Click to expand...

:thumbup:
 
with that said... what school isnt having 98% match somewhere? I love this as a future bar to hold schools up to when the belt tightens. But I'm just personally curious if this is an issue for an american school anywhere? Also curious about if the 98% needs to be in the first year, of if it can be wiggled into tracking those who dont match and their future status.

Dont get me wrong, I love this. Just asking the pertinent questions to try to flesh out what it could mean in reality.
 
DoktorB said:
How many existing DO schools have teaching hospitals?
Click to expand...

I haven't really checked, but I would assume that at least the public DO schools should have them. I thought the older private DO schools would have them too, but I don't recall hearing/seeing DMU having a teaching hospital during my interview there.

donkeykong1 said:
OU CORE currently has about 600 GME spots

http://www.oucom.ohiou.edu/OUHCOM/facts.htm
Click to expand...

UMDNJ's residency website: http://som.umdnj.edu/education/graduate_medical/index.html

One thing that stands out to me is the IM subspecialties.
 
Last edited:
poopyhead said:
I haven't really checked, but I would assume that at least the public DO schools should have them. I thought the older private DO schools would have them too, but I don't recall hearing/seeing DMU having a teaching hospital during my interview there.



UMDNJ's residency website: http://som.umdnj.edu/education/graduate_medical/index.html

One thing that stands out to me is the IM subspecialties.
Click to expand...

Almost all established DO schools have teaching hospitals, albeit mostly at community sites.

UMDNJ does have some IM subspecialty slots. This is definitely not unique to them. Also they each take on about 1 or 2 fellows max. Overall, I would venture and say the total UMDNJ GME positions total to about 100-200 across their 8 Hospital OPTI (i'm too lazy to count though so check the osteopathic opportunities website). The OU CORE has about 600 positions across 26 sites. This I believe is the bests kept secret in the DO world. They also received a 105 million dollar grant from the heritage foundation so they will only keep on growing.

MSU, CCOM, NYCOM, PCOM, LECOM (take into account its 3 schools in 1) put up similar numbers as well.
 
PCOM had a teaching hospital. It was losing too much money. Got shut down and the land sold to WPVI 6ABC. Now, we do rotations at sites (some good) where they'll take us for free.
 
Bacchus said:
PCOM had a teaching hospital. It was losing too much money. Got shut down and the land sold to WPVI 6ABC. Now, we do rotations at sites (some good) where they'll take us for free.
Click to expand...

I would like to see you guys rotate at ACTION NEWS! :laugh:

as someone who went to undergrad in Trenton I know damn well how laughable bad the channel 6 ACTION NEWS! team is (at least, when you consider they are a fully funded news team from a major broadcasting channel that frequently covers turkey sighting in west philly and other inane "non-news" items)
 
Looks promising.
Maybe they finally read all the grumbling on SDN that goes on about COCA?lol
 
Wow, this is actually GREAT news. Hopefully, they enact them soon.
 
Hmm....this is a step in the right direction...but it is VAGUE becuase it doesn't specify/force the OPTI's to open up 40 or 45% of specialty residencies.

Pikeville currently has 5 FP programs, 1 NMM program.
DMU has 1 GS and 3 FP programs
RVU has 2 IM programs

Sure, it will force them to open up at least 7-10 new programs

Also, Alabama, Campbell, and Marian will be forced to strengthen their OPTI IMMEDIATELY........but wat good will it be if all these programs are FP/IM and a few Peds.....

I wish it specified that each OPTI MUST have 40% specialty programs (radio, anes, opth, surg, surg specialties, etc.)

Thoughts?
 
FutureDoctorrrr said:
Hmm....this is a step in the right direction...but it is VAGUE becuase it doesn't specify/force the OPTI's to open up 40 or 45% of specialty residencies.

Pikeville currently has 5 FP programs, 1 NMM program.
DMU has 1 GS and 3 FP programs
RVU has 2 IM programs

Sure, it will force them to open up at least 7-10 new programs

Also, Alabama, Campbell, and Marian will be forced to strengthen their OPTI IMMEDIATELY........but wat good will it be if all these programs are FP/IM and a few Peds.....

I wish it specified that each OPTI MUST have 40% specialty programs (radio, anes, opth, surg, surg specialties, etc.)

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
The specialties that you specify require adequate volume and diversity in cases to qualify as residencies. Many of the hospitals that are used as rotation sites do not meet these criteria, so its hard to just create them.
 
1. So, will DO's stay stuck in only having FP/IM/Peds in abundance forever?

2. When/how will we get a specialty boom in DO residencies?
 
DrBowtie said:
The specialties that you specify require adequate volume and diversity in cases to qualify as residencies. Many of the hospitals that are used as rotation sites do not meet these criteria, so its hard to just create them.
Click to expand...

You are giving COCA too much credit. The only criteria for starting a residency appears to be the ability to fund it. One of the hospitals I rotated through, two IM residents were fired in a month, a patient with razor blades in his stomach was ordered an MRI for back pain and almost got one until it was politely pointed it out, and medical students were allowed to enter an OR without a mask, is getting an optho residency. Hands down one of the most frightening hospitals I've ever been in. Not the norm for a DO hospital, but just a personal example that their criteria don't amount to a donkey's ass.
 
thepoopologist said:
You are giving COCA too much credit. The only criteria for starting a residency appears to be the ability to fund it. One of the hospitals I rotated through, two IM residents were fired in a month, a patient with razor blades in his stomach was ordered an MRI for back pain and almost got one until it was politely pointed it out, and medical students were allowed to enter an OR without a mask, is getting an optho residency. Hands down one of the most frightening hospitals I've ever been in. Not the norm for a DO hospital, but just a personal example that their criteria don't amount to a donkey's ass.
Click to expand...

in the students defense... everyone enters the OR at some point without a mask. I keep taking two or three steps in while transporting the patient into the OR for prepping and have to step out and mask up. But at least I've never scrubbed without the mask, which ruins the scrub as well.
 
DoktorB said:
DMU/Mercy really doesn't seem to have a great excuse not to have a ton more residencies. Mercy in Des Moines has plenty of volume for at least an IM program, if not ortho, anesthesia, and EM as well. I don't profess to know the requirements to get things like these started, but I can't help but feel my home institution really isn't doing their part to provide post-graduate spots. I'm sure there are similar situations out there. MSU, OU, PCOM, etc.. seem to be holding up their end of the deal just fine.



We do have a large and very strong GS program. To my knowledge, we have 2 FP programs, but one is at UW-Madison and the other is at U-Minnesota.There are several FP programs in town that DO's flock to (and they are good programs)..but they are all ACGME accredited.
Click to expand...


Trinity Bettendorf houses the third FP program which is also a HEARTland OPTI member.

Btw I definitely agree with you. DMU is such an amazing school with a very sweet match list every year....but that is it....their OPTI is under developed. They've been around for approximately 100 years.....what have they been doing?? And Pikeville has also been around for so long. Why don't they have anything other than FP. Surgeons are much more in demand in rural areas. Why don't they start new surgery residencies?

When I compared DMU/Pikeville OPTI with other schools that have been around for that long, I got quite disappointed.

Personally, I didn't go to DMU's "fast track" interview because of the few opportunities that their OPTI provides graduating medical students.

But still, hats off to their graduating students who get sweet ACGME and AOA residencies.
 
Last edited:
DoktorB said:
Oh and btw, our surgery residency is going to be dual accredited in the next year or so, which means in theory they could start accepting MD's. I'm not sure if they actually will participate in the MD match, but the possibility will be there. Great for prestige, and if this ACGME legislation goes through there will be a healthy # of DO's here that will be able to still do fellowships...but not so great for DO's that want a spot there if they start taking MD's. Like DO's need more competition obtaining a surgery residency.
Click to expand...


Indeed, a double edged sword.
 
Hey everyone,
I just found out that you can voice your opinion/concern regarding these changes.

"Written commentary will be accepted through February 24, 2012. Written commentary should be
sent to Andrea Williams, MA, Assistant Secretary to the COCA, by e-mail
([email protected]), SUBJECT LINE: 2012 Standards Commentary; or U.S. mail,
Andrea Williams, Standards Commentary, c/o AOA, 142 E. Ontario Street, 6th floor, Chicago, IL
60611."

http://www.osteopathic.org/inside-a...ions-to-Standards-Jan-2012- with-Cvr-Memo.pdf
 
They forgot to add the part about not accepting any for-profit chain schools. :rolleyes:

I expect the weak DO programs to fight tooth and nail to get any kind of "residency tracking" measure killed. They dont want those skeletons exposed.
 
Any updates on this?
 
UNE hardly has any residency spots. They actually cut them down under the president of the university (and that's all I have to say on that subject... I've waxed poetic on that enough in the past). But most everyone at UNE gets a spot who wants one. Everyone in my class and the class before mine got a residency or research. No one was left high and dry.
 
Wonder whether this was passed or struck down...
 
New standards of accreditation will be posted on the AOA website on the 1st of July.
 
http://www.osteopathic.org/inside-a...ccreditation-Standards-Effective-7-1-2012.pdf


NEW:
Standard Eight: GME Outcomes

8.1 The COM must be a member of an Osteopathic Postdoctoral Training Institution (OPTI) that is accredited by the American Osteopathic Association’s Council on Osteopathic Postdoctoral Institution for the purposes of supporting the continuum of osteopathic education.

8.2 The COM must establish a relationship with an OPTI and support the development, growth and maintenance of graduate medical education.

8.3 The COM must develop a retrospective GME Accountability Report demonstrating that the COM’s mission and objectives are being met. The methods used to develop the report must be fully described and documented. The report must demonstrate the number of graduates entering GME, the positions available in the school’s affiliated OPTI, the historic percentage of match participation (AOA, NRMP, military, etc.), final placement, the number/percentage of students unsuccessful in the matches, and the residency choices of its graduates.

Guideline: COM’s should strive to place 100% of their graduates into GME programs and devote the necessary resources to obtain that goal. At a minimum, this retrospective data should demonstrate a 3-year rolling average final placement rate of 98% for those students who entered the AOA, NRMP, or military, etc. matches.

8.4 The COM must develop and publicize a system, in keeping with the COM’s mission and objectives, to assess the progress of each student toward acquiring the competencies essential for successfully entering into a GME program leading to graduation and effective performance as an osteopathic physician.

8.5 The COM must annually report publically, beginning with the 2013-2014 academic year, from the previous four academic years, the following data on its website, in its catalog, and in all COM promotional publications that provide information about the COM’s education for prospective students. If the promotional publication lacks adequate space for such statistics, the COM may include a reference to the information on the COM website.
a) The number of students from each graduating class who applied to and
obtained or were offered placement in a graduate medical education program
accredited by the American Osteopathic Association or the Accreditation
Council for Graduate Medical Education or the military, and the number of
students from each graduating class who applied to and were unable to obtain
placement in an accredited graduate medical program.
b. The first time pass rate of its graduates on the COMLEX-USA Level 3 exam.
 
user3 said:
http://www.osteopathic.org/inside-a...ccreditation-Standards-Effective-7-1-2012.pdf


NEW:
Standard Eight: GME Outcomes

8.1 The COM must be a member of an Osteopathic Postdoctoral Training Institution (OPTI) that is accredited by the American Osteopathic Association’s Council on Osteopathic Postdoctoral Institution for the purposes of supporting the continuum of osteopathic education.

8.2 The COM must establish a relationship with an OPTI and support the development, growth and maintenance of graduate medical education.

8.3 The COM must develop a retrospective GME Accountability Report demonstrating that the COM’s mission and objectives are being met. The methods used to develop the report must be fully described and documented. The report must demonstrate the number of graduates entering GME, the positions available in the school’s affiliated OPTI, the historic percentage of match participation (AOA, NRMP, military, etc.), final placement, the number/percentage of students unsuccessful in the matches, and the residency choices of its graduates.

Guideline: COM’s should strive to place 100% of their graduates into GME programs and devote the necessary resources to obtain that goal. At a minimum, this retrospective data should demonstrate a 3-year rolling average final placement rate of 98% for those students who entered the AOA, NRMP, or military, etc. matches.

8.4 The COM must develop and publicize a system, in keeping with the COM’s mission and objectives, to assess the progress of each student toward acquiring the competencies essential for successfully entering into a GME program leading to graduation and effective performance as an osteopathic physician.

8.5 The COM must annually report publically, beginning with the 2013-2014 academic year, from the previous four academic years, the following data on its website, in its catalog, and in all COM promotional publications that provide information about the COM’s education for prospective students. If the promotional publication lacks adequate space for such statistics, the COM may include a reference to the information on the COM website.
a) The number of students from each graduating class who applied to and
obtained or were offered placement in a graduate medical education program
accredited by the American Osteopathic Association or the Accreditation
Council for Graduate Medical Education or the military, and the number of
students from each graduating class who applied to and were unable to obtain
placement in an accredited graduate medical program.
b. The first time pass rate of its graduates on the COMLEX-USA Level 3 exam.
Click to expand...

what about reporting publicly the pass rates on COMLEX Level 1?
 
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