It Could Happen Again Tomorrow Katrina Update

1
It Could Happen (Again) TomorrowKatrina Update

• Moderator
• Paula M. Termuhlen, MD
• Wright State University Boonshoft School of
  Medicine
• Surgical Education Week 2006

2
Answering the Call for Help

• Personal contact
• Keesler AFB
• Closure for indeterminate
• time-electrical system
• 24 residents affected

3
Answering the Call for Help

• Desire to keep as many of the affected residents
  together as possible NOT service needs
• Wright State University

4
The Process Timeline

• August 29-Hurricane Katrina
• September 9-Petitioned the RRC for a temporary
  increase in complement
• September/October-Communication with PD at
  Keesler regarding who would be coming and at what
  levels
• Didnt know what would be allowed by RRC
• Multiple lists of transferees
• October 20-Transfers approved
• November 1/ January 1-Transfers working at WSU

5
The Transferred Residents

• Received 5 residents-one at each level
• Program grew from 44 to 49 residents
• No financial issues because of military funding
• Personal issues
• Would they be able to get credit for full
  academic year?
• 1 resident lost entire house, another significant
  damage
• Need to return to Biloxi to finalize sales,
  cleanup etc
• 1 resident has a spouse in another specialty
• Chief has a plastics fellowship in New Orleans
  next year

6
Assimilation into Program

• Response from faculty and residents already in
  program
• Overwhelmingly positive
• Offered homes and assistance
• Merging different curriculums
• Help them but minimize effect on current group
• Culture shock
• New residents just joined a program with twice as
  many people and clinical experiences

7
Different Needs at Different Levels

• PGY-5 Lets look at your cases and what your
  year would have been and fill in the blanks
• PGY-4 Fill in blanks AND get you ready to take a
  leadership role as a chief here next year
• PGY-3 Fill in blanks AND prepare to be a leader
  AND career advising, etc
• PGY 1-2 Jump in and lets get to work

8
Resident Perspective

• How did they identify where to transfer?
• Working with one of our grads at time of
  hurricane
• Looked at programs with open slots
• 4/5 are married and spouses had needs
• Experience during medical student rotation
• Let the program director decide
• What was the best experience?
• Like being in our program and appreciated the
  warm welcome from current residents and faculty
• Are you confident you will finish your training?
• Yes

9
Resident Perspective

• What was most frustrating?
• Merging military needs and educational needs
• Uncertainty of placement and timing
• Complexity of communication and establishing who
  was making decisions and the residents role in
  the decision
• Thinking they had things set up with one program
  and then have the assignment change

10
Resident Perspective

• If you were in charge, how would you have handled
  it?
• List programs approved for transfer early
• Create a timeline with reasonable dates
• One point of contact for home program
• Send individuals to programs with openings
  already available and not needing to be created
• Couldnt have planned for it so not sure I could
  do it better

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It Could Happen (Again) Tomorrow

• ACGME Response to Disaster
• Comments due April 15