Director of Medical Education (DME)

Responsibilities and Functions

I.                    Administrative Provisions

The following provisions are intended only to outline generally the basic terms and responsibilities of the DME.  They do not serve as a description of the specific functions to be performed by the DME.  Payment for the performance of DME services will not be made for fulfilling these basic responsibilities.

1. Administrative Relationships.  The DME shall serve as the professional head of the Hospital’s Department of Graduate Medical Education (“Department”).  The DME shall have the authority, responsibility, appropriate resources, protected time for administrative activities, appropriate reporting relationship within hospital administration for the oversight, administration and accountability of the Hospital’s AOA approved programs.  The DME is responsible for ensuring compliance with the AOA’s “Basic Document for Postdoctoral Training Programs” and the Specialty College Standards. 
2. Commitment.  In operating the Department at the Hospital, and serving as its Director, the DME shall devote his best ability to its proper management.  The DME shall provide services in the Department such that the coverage will be adequate and at the customary level of the community and meet the policies of the Hospital.
3. Professional Duties.  In addition to those professional duties described elsewhere in this Agreement, the DME shall insure the quality of all physician and patient care services rendered by the Department.

II.                 Specific Medical Director Functions to be Performed

These provisions describe the specific DME functions that the physician is expected to perform and for which he can claim time on his DME physician time records.

1. Administrative Responsibilities.  The DME shall exercise diligence in assisting the Hospital in keeping controllable costs of the Department to a minimum by assessing and improving processes, technologies and equipment.  The DME shall participate, as requested by the Hospital, in the preparation of capital budgets for the Department.
2. DME Qualifications.  Pursuant to the AOA’s “Basic Documents for OPTI and Postdoctoral Training Programs”, revision date February 2006, Effective July 2006, the DME shall have the following specific qualifications:
   1. Graduate of an AOA-approved college of osteopathic medicine.
   2. Successful completion of an AOA-approved internship and residency.
   3. Be AOA Board certified or obtain AOA board certification within three (3) years through a recognized AOA pathway.
   4. Member in good standing of both the AOA and Association of Osteopathic Directors and Medical Educators (AODME).
   5. Possess a minimum of three (3) years practice experience.
   6. Possess a minimum of three (3) years experience as teaching faculty member in an osteopathic graduate medical education program or college of osteopathic medicine.
3. DME Responsibilities.
   1. Authorized point of contact regarding all official communication from the AOA regarding education programs, IRRP (AOA Match), TIVRA, ERAS, “Opportunities” and all official communication from AOA’s Division of Postdoctoral Training.
   2. Coordination of all AOA training programs at Hospital
   3. Ensure compliance with AOA's Basic Documents and specialty standards for Postdoctoral Training Programs.
   4. Complete all correspondence, data and electronic registration requests for AOA, OPTI, AACOM and Specialty Colleges in a timely manner.
   5. Organize and implement a high quality Osteopathic education program at the Hospital.
   6. Supervise all aspects of the Osteopathic Education program at the Hospital.
   7. Serve as the Intern Program Director.
   8. Manage all applicable affiliation agreement, documents, and correspondence related to AOA programs.
   9. Manage the Internal Review Process.
   10. Prepare the CORE Competency plan which describes specific methodologies to teach and evaluate all trainees in the seven required competencies and submit plan to the Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC).
   11. Prepare and present an annual report on the "state of AOA educational programs in the Hospital" to the Medical Staff, Medical Executive Committee (MEC) and Board of Trustees (BOT), and a copy to the respective OPTI.  The annual report will review the activities of the Graduate Medical Education Committee and programs including but not limited to:

a. The supervision, responsibilities, and evaluation of interns, residents and fellows.

b.      The Hospitals compliance with duty hour standards.

c. The Hospital's internal review activities.

d.      The safety and quality of patient care provided by the interns, residents and fellows.

e. Progress on the CORE Competencies.

12. Work with the Administrative DME to determine resources and budget to meet training program requirements.
13. Chair the Graduate Medical Education Committee of the Hospital.
3. Internship Responsibilities.
   1. Serve as the Intern Program Director.
   2. Ensure the completion of all evaluations, quarterly meetings and requirements of the internship.
   3. Oversee the scheduling, curriculum development, training and evaluation of interns.
   4. Participate in the recruiting and selection of interns.
   5. Develop internship training policies.

III.               Provisions Requiring Regular Meetings with Certain Hospital Personnel

The DME shall be required, at a minimum on a quarterly basis, to have a scheduled meeting with certain Hospital personnel to discuss relevant and substantive matters. These personnel should include the Administrative DME, the respective specialty program directors and the house staff coordinator.

IV.              Other Terms

1. On behalf of Plaza Medical Center of Fort Worth, Christine Fredric, the Administrative DME shall oversee the DME's performance under this Agreement and shall be the Hospital administrator authorized to approve the DME's timesheets.
2. The maximum number of hours per month that can be claimed under this Medical Directorship Agreement is one hundred ten (110).  This amount is neither a guarantee nor an expectation.  Payment will be issued only for the amount of hours (up to the maximum allowable) of specific and measurable medical director functions performed by the DME.
3. The DME is prohibited from delegating any medical director functions, without the prior written approval of the Administrative DME.
4. Timesheets will require an entry for each function performed.  Each entry will reflect the day it was performed and the amount of time spent on that function, rounded to the nearest quarter hour.  Using one generic or vague description to encompass several different functions is unallowable.  Although providing the time of day the task was performed is not required, the entry must be sufficiently described so that the Administrative DME can verify, if necessary, that is was performed.  If the function involved interaction with other individuals, those individuals need to be identified by name, and position.

Rev 5/06