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Biomedical subjects

Mark Cummings

Publications and source records attributed to Mark Cummings.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

The predicament of osteopathic postdoctoral education.

The growth of colleges of osteopathic medicine (COMs) during the past 20 years has been a catalyst for change and has created new challenges in osteopathic medicine. None of these challenges is more daunting than the task of sustaining an osteopathic graduate medical education (OGME) system that has suffered during this period of rapid development. Notable trends within the osteopathic medicine community since 1990 include allopathic residency programs obtaining OGME accreditation, COM graduates bypassing OGME, repeated major changes in American Osteopathic Association (AOA) accreditation policies, a growing dependence on Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education programs to train osteopathic graduates, and a lessening of options for the AOA to effectively direct its OGME system. The predicament is whether COMs can continue to grow without resulting in the demise of the OGME system and a loss of professional identity.

Education, Medical, Graduate↗
PubMed2006

Family medicine's search for manpower: the American Osteopathic Association accreditation option.

In recent years, family medicine has encountered problems recruiting and filling its Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited residencies. In addressing these reverses, one increasingly popular strategy has been to acquire American Osteopathic Association (AOA) accreditation as a way to tap into the growing number of osteopathic graduates. This stratagem is founded on assumptions that parallel-accredited postdoctoral programs are attractive to doctor of osteopathy (DO) graduates, that collaboration with sponsoring colleges of osteopathic medicine (COMs) provides direct access to osteopathic students, and that DOs can play an important role in replacing the increasing scarcity of United States medical graduates who are selecting specialty residencies. Within the past 5 years, nearly 10% of all ACGME family medicine residency programs have voluntarily obtained a second level of accreditation to also qualify as AOA-accredited family medicine residency programs. This strategy has produced mixed outcomes, as noted from the results of the osteopathic matching program. The flood of osteopathic graduates into these parallel-accredited programs has not occurred. In addition, recent AOA policy changes now require ACGME-accredited programs to make a deeper educational commitment to osteopathic postdoctoral education. The most successful ACGME/AOA-accredited programs have been those that are closely affiliated with and in near proximity of a COM and also train osteopathic students in required clerkship rotations.

Accreditation↗
PubMed2005

The irony of osteopathic medicine and primary care.

Osteopathic medicine is strongly identified with primary care. In the past 20 years, several factors have influenced this relationship, resulting in significant changes in the postdoctoral training of doctors of osteopathic medicine (DOs). Growth in colleges of osteopathic medicine spilled over into postdoctoral programs of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), creating a number of consequences. More than ever, osteopathic physicians are filling voids in ACGME primary care residency positions left vacant by U.S. medical graduates. Many allopathic primary care residencies have created parallel-accredited (American Osteopathic Association/ACGME) programs in hopes of tapping into this supply of DOs. In turn, osteopathic training institutions have shifted their educational emphasis in support of nonprimary care residencies. As a result of these changes, there is a strong element of irony in the underlying reasons for osteopathic medicine's link to primary care, why osteopathic training institutions are emphasizing specialty residencies, and the new responsibility of allopathic programs in training the next generation of primary care DOs.

Career Choice↗
PubMed2003

Does the osteopathic internship have a future?

Since 1984, a new set of realities has generated pressures that are transforming osteopathic graduate medical education (OGME) and forcing it to adapt to changing circumstances. Policy decisions were made that addressed these circumstances, and the impact of these choices moved OGME in new directions. Many of the changes were perceived as positive, but inherent weaknesses were exposed as well. While the appearance and structure of OGME have been significantly altered, nowhere are the changes more apparent than in the traditional osteopathic internship. Compared with 1990, today's osteopathic internship is markedly different in terms of its curriculum, its identity, and its place within residencies approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. As a direct consequence of decisions made to expand internship opportunities, the traditional osteopathic internship appears destined to vanish as a distinct educational experience.

Education, Medical↗
PubMed2003

How private colleges of osteopathic medicine reinvented themselves.

Starting in the last decade of the 20th century, private colleges of osteopathic medicine (COMs) began to restructure themselves in ways that represent a distinct departure from the past. Their new organizational model de-emphasizes many of the characteristics that distinguish allopathic medical schools today. The new emphasis centers on high enrollment, diversity of health-related programs, formation of universities of health science, expansion, and a retreat from involvement in clinical and postdoctoral education. Such changes reflect an admixture of entrepreneurship, an ability to respond quickly to changing environments, and an insularity that draws them away from traditional forms of clinical and postdoctoral medical education. The private COMs carved out their own niche in medical education and created a new model compatible with their institutional strengths and weaknesses and related to their economic, educational, and human resources. As an evolving educational model, the private COMs have undergone a remarkable transformation in a brief period; they bear watching for future developments and to assess their long-term viability.

Education, Medical↗