The Fellowship Council (FC) Board of Directors is proposing a new competency-based educational model that focuses on attaining specific outcomes in fellowship training. The aim is to develop a unified approach to defining fellowship standards with broad support by all stakeholder societies (AHPBA, ASCRS, AHS, ASMBS, SAGES and SSAT) to:

• Provide a clear understanding of expected performance by defining Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) for training and assessment. An EPA is simply a clinical activity that will be delegated to a fellow when they demonstrate sufficient competence. At the end of the fellowship, each fellow should be trusted to
• Facilitate uniform accreditation of fellowship programs
• Better align with North American General Surgery Residency training programs as they shift towards competency-based assessment frameworks.
• Assist Fellows and Program Directors in identifying gaps in learning to facilitate coaching

This new model emphasizes frequent work-place assessments in various settings. These short, focused evaluations provide feedback to the fellow regarding the level of supervision required in that specific clinical case. A Clinical Competency Committee then will then review all the assessments and ensure the fellow is progressing as expected.

The EPA assessment platform will be available for all Fellowship Council fellowships for the 2021-2022 fellowship cohort. As this is a new approach for many, this first year will be a transition time. It is anticipated that full implementation and the use of EPA assessments will be a program requirement beginning in the 2022-2023 fellowship year. More detailed information about EPAs can found here.

Programs and Fellows will have access to the EPA assessment platform August 1, 2021.

The Fellowship Council will hold a series of sessions to assist Program Coordinators set up their Administrative User and Contributing Faculty Member accounts. Program Coordinators are encouraged to participate in one of the following sessions.

Monday July 12, 2021, at 2pm Pacific, 4pm Central, 5pm Eastern
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0tfuGtqjIuHtb2UNJgQGtA6Ps4ZngVNxEI
Thursday July 15, 2021, at 11am Pacific, 1pm Central, 2pm Eastern
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcqcOCqqTgtGd2EAmWaTCBt5_6v4wlN5NSc
Tuesday July 20, 2021, at 9am Pacific, 11am Central, 12pm Eastern
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYvde2gqzwuEtMDBd7SY85A9szJ9Ja8Igve
Friday July 23, 2021, at 10am Pacific, 12pm Central, 1pm Eastern
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYvde2gqzwuEtMDBd7SY85A9szJ9Ja8Igve

The Fellowship Council will hold an EPA webinar in September to go over EPAs, the EPA assessment platform and the EPA submission process. Program Directors, Associate Program Directors, Coordinators, Contributing Faculty Members and Fellows are encouraged to participate. The webinar will be recorded and made available to programs following the session. Please use the link below to register:

Tuesday, September 28, 2021, at 3pm Pacific, 5pm Central, 6pm Eastern
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJApcuGupz8iHdLftfi8IKBOu3w-GD9boz_3

If you have any questions, please contact the Fellowship Council Office at [email protected].

Regards,

The Fellowship Council Education/Curriculum Committee

Save-the-date!!
The Fellowship Council General Business Meeting will take place virtually, via Zoom, on Wednesday, October 21, at  3:00pm-4:00 PDT; 5:00pm-6:00pm CDT; 6:00pm-7:00pm EDT.
**Registration will be available soon!

The Fellowship Council General Membership Meeting will take place virtually, via Zoom, on the following date and time

• Date: Monday, April 26, 2021
• Time: 4:00pm-5:00pm PDT; 6:00pm-7:00pm CDT; 7:00pm-8:00pm EDT

FC-GeneralBusinessMeeting-Agenda-20210426
BusinessMeetingMinutes20201006
FinancialReports2020-1231

You are invited to join this meeting. Please complete your registration using the following link:

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwofuqtqz8uE909FbIYxb-tWFpj_V49qhbD

If you have any questions, please email Vanessa Cheung.

Thank you!
The Fellowship Council

 

 

Due to the ongoing disruptions from the COVID pandemic and its impact on society, academic institutions and hospitals, the Fellowship Council has determined that for the 2022-2023 application and matching process, all fellowship interviews should be conducted virtually. This should include local fellowship candidates as well as those from outside institutions so that all candidates are treated equally for the interview experience.

The Fellowship Council recognizes that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in some additional challenges that fellowship programs may be faced with in the coming application and match cycle. Specifically, U.S. medical licensing examinations have been postponed, which may mean international applicants may be unable to meet eligibility criteria for licensing in some states. In addition, national limitations on H-1B and J-1 visas in the U.S. may also create problems for some applicants.

In order to protect both your program and the fellowship applicant, it is incumbent on you as the program director to ensure that any applicant whom you consider for your rank list will be able to meet all eligibility criteria for licensing and privileges in your state or province and institution. 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to us directly.  Thank you.