AGA Institute Education & Training Committee
This Organizational Statement was last revised February 2018.
Mission
To further the Strategic Plan by: (1) defining the educational needs of the membership, assuring compliance with ACCME requirements, creating educational programs to support recertification, professional development (clinical/research) and teaching, and assessing how well the organization meets those needs; and (2) assuring a well-trained workforce, of the requisite scope and depth to support gastroenterology’s mission in research, clinical care, management and administration, and teaching.
The specific charge to the committee is to ensure that the AGA Institute meets the relevant educational needs of its constituencies in a timely, effective and efficient manner, through, among other things: (1) assessing and establishing AGA members’ educational needs; (2) evaluating the extent to which the AGA Institute’s educational programs have met their stated objectives; (3) reviewing and providing oversight for all AGA Institute educational activities; (4) ensuring that educational programs and products are educationally sound and comply with all ACCME requirements; (5) formulating AGA Institute policies that will help ensure a continued supply of qualified gastroenterologists in the U.S.; (6) developing recommendations and resources that will help maintain and advance the quality of gastroenterology training programs; (7) developing policies and recommendations concerning the qualifications and training needed by health-care professionals with respect to gastroenterological procedures and services; and (8) advising the AGA Institute Governing Board on the ideal pathways for recertification by liaising with the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM).
Committee Structure
The committee consists of 15 members (including a chair), plus a trainee to serve as a resource on trainee issues and perspectives. Each position on the committee has a role with specific expertise. The committee structure includes the chairs of the Training, GTE, CME, International and Maintenance of Certification Subcommittees, one at-large member, one member in clinical practice, two members in private practice and a non-physician provider (who serves as a non- voting member). The chair of the AGA Institute Council (who shall not count against the maximum membership) shall attend all committee meetings and serve as a liaison between the committee and the council. The education/training councillor (who shall not count against the maximum membership) shall attend all committee meetings and serve as the governing board’s liaison. Additional members of the governing board (who shall not count against the maximum membership) may be assigned as team members to the committee but are not intended to attend any committee meetings. A chair-elect (who shall not count against the maximum membership) shall be appointed one year before the end of the term of the chair.
Appointment terms of all committee members shall be for two years, with an opportunity to be renewed for an additional year based on attendance and performance. One-third of the maximum terms shall expire annually.
The committee chair is authorized to create small, temporary subgroups consisting of members and nonmembers of the committee to address policy development and oversight of specific issues within the committee’s mission. Costs of all such subgroups must be included in the committee’s approved budget.
Committee Chair Qualifications
- Previous experience as an AGA/AGA Institute committee member.
- Knowledge of and experience with professional education concepts and technologies.
- Familiar with ACCME and ACGME requirements and policies.
Committee Functions
- Implement relevant strategic directions from the Strategic Plan assigned to the committee; review the Strategic Plan to determine new and better ways to achieve association goals.
- Provide input on strategic trends and opportunities and suggest adjustments to the Strategic Plan for the chair to communicate to the AGA Institute Leadership Cabinet.
- Conduct periodic surveys of the membership to determine educational needs (i.e., knowledge and practice gaps) and communicate survey results to the governing board, council and other AGA Institute entities; conduct an annual assessment of how the AGA Institute met members’ educational needs.
- Assure the AGA Institute and all educational programs, projects and materials involving continuing medical education comply with ACCME requirements; expeditiously review all AGA Institute CME program applications.
- Review and approve endorsement requests for specific educational activities from other organizations; in the case of co-sponsorship requests, review and make recommendations to the governing board.
- Oversee development and operation of the postgraduate courses, Training Directors’ Workshop, Program Directors’ Caucus, GastroSlides, DDSEP® and recertification materials and resources. Provide content/platform input on educational activities developed by other committees (e.g., AGA Institute Practice Management and Economics Committee).
- Responsible for recertification policies (ABIM Maintenance of Certification – MOC) and other GI credentialing programs.
- Scan the environment for recommendations on new educational technologies and mechanisms for its use by the AGA Institute.
- Review the core curriculum and work to secure appropriate changes to maintain its currency and quality; will incorporate competency-based assessment with the next revision to the curriculum.
- Develop educational and evaluative products, programs and resources for training programs and teachers (e.g., the Gastroenterology Training Examination).
- Develop programs, products and resources to permit trainees and young members to make sound career and financial decisions and to develop skills for academic achievement (e.g., the Academic Skills Workshop).
- Recommend policies relative to the Gastroenterology Match to maintain robust participation by and visibility among GI fellowship programs.
- Track physician workforce planning issues, as these apply to gastroenterology, and recommend appropriate policies to the governing board.
- Develop policies and guidelines that define the qualifications, competencies and credentialing associated with gastroenterological procedures and services; this may involve working cooperatively with other AGA Institute committees/council as well as external organizations.
- Liaise with the AGA Institute Council to facilitate the development of educational and training programs within and outside of DDW®.
- Perform other functions as assigned by the governing board.
Meetings
The committee is authorized to hold two face-to-face meetings per year, one in September and one at Digestive Disease Week®, and teleconferences as needed.
Members
- Arthur DeCross, MD, AGAF (co-chair)
- Brijen J. Shah, MD, AGAF (co-chair)
- Christen K. Dilly, MD, MEHP, AGAF (co-chair elect)
- Jeffrey M. Fox, MD, MPH, AGAF (co-chair elect)
- Edward Barnes, MD
- Mauricio Garcia Saenz De Sicilia (chair, international subcommittee)
- Alyson Fox, MD (chair, training subcommittee)
- Tedra Gray, NP
- Leila Kia, MD
- Amanda Krause, MD (trainee)
- Sheryl Pfeil, MD, AGAF (governing board liaison)
- Doug Robertson, MD, MPH, AGAF
- Justin Sewell, MD, PhD, MPH
- Richa Shukla, MD
- Poojah Singhal, MD
- Milena Suarez, MD
- Matthew Whitson, MD, MSEd
- Christopher Williams, MD, PhD
- Richard Kevin Wood, Jr, MD
Addendum
Continuing Medical Education (CME) Subcommittee – reviews, approves and provides instrumental guidance for all AGA Institute activities applying to be certified for CME credit.
Gastroenterology Training Examination (GTE) Subcommittee – continuously develops new questions for the GTE, reviews, and as appropriate, revises existing questions, and maintains the integrity and psychometric validity of the GTE’s item bank.
International Subcommittee – develops and implements a global strategy that will increase the prominence of AGA within the international gastroenterology community and meet the needs of international constituencies through education.
Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Subcommittee – oversees the development of MOC activities. The chair of the MOC subcommittee will serve as the AGA liaison to the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Liaison Committee for Certification and Recertification (LCCR) and will represent the AGA Institute at the ABIM LCCR meetings, gathering and disseminating information on the ABIM’s MOC program, to help guide the association’s development of MOC-certified activities so that they best meet member needs.
Program Directors’ Caucus – serves as a venue to discuss and develop consensus recommendations on matters of common interest to the training director community. Participation is open to all program directors as well as the training committees (or equivalent) of the GI societies. Caucus recommendations are subject to governing board review and approval.
Training Subcommittee – monitors the graduate medical education environment, as it pertains to gastroenterology fellowship programs, develops policy recommendations (ACGME RRC, NBME, etc.), oversees revisions of the core curriculum, and leads development of new products/services that meet the needs of the training community (e.g., Gastroenterology Training Examination).
