The ACR Committee on Training and Workforce Issues remains committed to supporting rheumatology training programs to ensure a well-prepared future workforce. Given the significant role rheumatology training directors play in the recruitment and education of rheumatology fellows, the ACR considers it essential to support their efforts.
This month, the ACR will host the 12th Annual Rheumatology Training Directors’ Conference in Chicago. The conference is designed to provide training directors access to valuable resources and expose them to innovative teaching methods that will enable them to improve and strengthen their curriculum.
The ACR expects at least 100 representatives from adult and pediatric U.S.-accredited programs to attend the conference, which will include presentations on Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) site visits and requirements, incorporating quality into the fellowship curriculum, changes in healthcare and the impact on GME funding, and using ultrasound in rheumatology training programs.
A meeting of rheumatology division chiefs was convened for the first time at the 2009 ACR/ARHP Annual Scientific Meeting in Philadelphia. The meeting focused on issues affecting divisions, including challenges in research funding, the academic clinical practice, recruitment, resources for the support of young investigators, and division program development. This forum will become a regular conduit for division chiefs to share ideas and solutions to common issues.
By participating in these types of opportunities, program directors will be better prepared for workforce challenges that face their programs and divisions. These events also will help the ACR’s Committee on Training and Workforce Issues remain in touch with the grassroots issues that these programs and divisions encounter, which ultimately leads to a better prepared future rheumatology workforce. For more information on how the ACR is preparing tomorrow’s rheumatologists, visit www.rheumatology.org.