Columbia Residency on Probation?

[Mental Gymnast]

It seems as though Columbia's rad onc residency program was just put on probation two weeks ago. Does anyone know anything about the violations behind this or what this means?

http://www.acgme.org/adspublic/reports/pbProgs.asp

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[Adawaal]

Rumors abound, but without talking to someone form that program it's hard to really know. I think about a month ago the Drexel Rad Onc program was also placed on probation, for those on the interview trail who would be nervous about such an issue.

 

[MHotep]

What type of infractions result in probation for Rad Onc programs? Inadequacies in case volume/diversity? It would be pretty hard to violate work hours without overnight call.

 

[Adawaal]

What type of infractions result in probation for Rad Onc programs? Inadequacies in case volume/diversity? It would be pretty hard to violate work hours without overnight call.

There are any number of ACGME regulations a residency program can fail to meet appropriately that could lead to probation. In fact, the new Rad Onc regulations going into effect on 1/1/09 have added a couple of new wrinkles to the mix, so I would not be surprised to see a couple of new names added to the list along the way.

Certainly a paucity of cases is a quick way to land in probation land. Flux in number of faculty FTEs at the primary site in small programs can lead to problems as well. Lots of other violations are also possible. Check the ACGME website for a 20+ page list of guidelines for our specialty if you're interested. I can't even imagine how the work hour rule could possibly be an issue in Rad Onc. If it is, the programs has LOTS of problems....

Unless the Rad Onc RRC becomes aware of a major problem in between visits, these problems tend to be uncovered at scheduled accreditation visits (every five years or less, depending on how happy the RRC was at the previous visit). Minor violations tend to lead to the program having a year or so to correct the deficits and respond in writing. This is not the same as being placed on probation, which generally requires a number of minor or a major violation of ACGME rules.

The Rad Onc RRC folks take their jobs seriously, but they're not insane hard-asses either. Any program that officially lands in the probationary world has some really significant issues, IMHO. That said, this usually lights a fire under some butts, and these programs tend to work to fix the problems and get off probation ASAP.

 

[qwert]

Effective: 2/15/2008 2/1/2010
[4300521005] University of California (Irvine) Program
Radiation Oncology
University of California (Irvine) Medical Center
Department of Radiation Oncology
101 The City Drive, South/ B-23, Rte 26/ Zot-2690
Orange, CA 92868
Jeffrey V. Kuo, MD Probation

Effective: 1/18/2007 2/25/2009
[4303511068] New York Presbyterian Hospital (Columbia Campus) Program
Radiation Oncology
New York Presbyterian Hospital (Columbia Campus)
Department of Radiation Oncology
622 West 168th Street
New York, NY 10032
K.S. C. Chao, MD Probation

Effective: 11/3/2008 7/1/2010
[4304111084] Drexel University College of Medicine/Hahnemann University Hospital Program
Radiation Oncology
Drexel University College of Medicine
245 N 15th Street, MS 200
Philadelphia, PA 19102
Usha Babaria, MD Probation


http://www.prep4usmle.com/forum/thread/80212/

 

[dl2dp2]

some big name programs (UCSF, Penn) are also on the list of probation. I don't think this is terribly serious.

 

[medgator]

some big name programs (UCSF, Penn) are also on the list of probation. I don't think this is terribly serious.

where do you see that??

 

[qwert]

Bs

some big name programs (ucsf, penn) are also on the list of probation. I don't think this is terribly serious.

 

[Gfunk6]

where do you see that??

I think he is referring to programs on probation in specialties other than Rad Onc.

 

[HappyMusic]

Any updates on the Columbia residency program? It seems that with Dr. Chao as chairman they should be on the rise after their recent problems. Their web site doesn't shed much light--it only lists 3 clinical faculty and most of the site is outdated. Thanks in advance for any insights into the current quality of the program.

 

[cyberknife]

related to the below conversation about Irvine.... what about columbia and drexel? i heard they were on probation as well. columbia even had a non-rad onc chair for a while. does anyone have the details on these two seemingly world-class places? i wonder what the specific violations were that landed them in trouble.

 

[tchockie]

columbia was on probation from 2008-2010, now they are fully accredited until 2014.

http://www.acgme.org/adspublic/

i posted this in the irvine thread, but you can click on "accredited program history" and it gives you the whole history of any program you want to search for including their current status. doesn't give reasons or anything though.

also, if you click on "accreditation decisions" and look under "programs with currently unfavorable decisions" it gives you a list of programs currently on probation.

theres actually quite a bit of info on the acgme site if you look around.