U. of C. brain surgery training program on probation

 

The University of Chicago Medical Center's neurosurgery training program has been placed on probation for two years by the nation's leading accreditor of programs that educate doctors-in-training.
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education on June 19 placed the U of C program on probation until June of 2011 when it

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will be reviewed again. The program, one of the oldest in the country, trains about a dozen neurosurgery residents at any given time.
"Although the reason for (the council's) decision will not be known for 60 days, we anticipate that they will cite the loss or retirement of several clinical faculty during fiscal year 2007 and a consequent 10 percent decrease in patient volume, which is an important component of any training program," the U. of C. said in a statement to the Tribune.
The Chicago-based council would not disclose specific reasons for the decision, citing laws protecting the confidentiality of "information gathered in the peer review process," said Accreditation Council spokeswoman Julie Jacob.

The U. of C., however, believes volumes of patients needed for a rich training experience will be rebound under a new academic affiliation with Evanston-based hospital operator NorthShore University Health System.
"In the past year, under new leadership, the program has been able to recruit talented new faculty," the U of C said in its statement to the Tribune. The four hospitals in the NorthShore system "should enable neurosurgery residents to participate in the care of many more patients, increasing the total volume well above previous levels."
A probationary period is not without precedent. More than 60 residency programs across the country are on probation, according to the council's web site. More severe, however, would be a loss of accreditation. Programs must be accredited by the council to receive graduate medical education funding from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Residents must also graduate from an accredited program to be eligible to take board certification exams.
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education is a nonprofit council based in Chicago that accredits about 8,500 residency programs educating 108,000 residents.
"Its mission is to improve health care by assessing and advancing the quality of resident physicians' education through accreditation," the council says on its Web site.