PGME Program Administrator, Surgery

PGME Program Administrator, Surgery

Primary Purpose/Mandate

The Program Administrator (PA) for a Residency Program at the University of Saskatchewan is responsible for providing high level specialized program support to the Program Director within the Department of Surgery relating to postgraduate medical education.

Nature of Work

Reporting to the Department of Surgery Finance and Administration Manager (FAM) and accountable to the Program Director, Finance and Administration Manager, PGME Manager and Associate Dean, PGME, this position interacts with a diverse group of individuals including faculty, trainees, and staff at all sites of training. It is expected that the incumbent will have excellent interpersonal skills, and attention to detail in maintaining records and correspondence. This position will identify priorities, develop workflow strategies and implement them to ensure daily objectives and long- term planning and objectives are achieved. Work performed is complex and is performed independently (with general guidance from the Program Director and/or FAM) by determining program processes, and working within accreditation standards and resident collective agreement clauses. The PA will take initiative to establish timelines and priorities to achieve goals and appropriate outcomes. Work will be performed in a fast-paced environment and is shared with one other PA; collaboration with team members is required to successfully provide program support required by the program/department.

Program Administrator Responsibilities and Expectations

Support for Program Directors, Residents, Faculty and Program throughout the Academic Year

• Responsible for the day-to-day organization of the postgraduate program, often acts on behalf of the program with necessary approval.
• Gather data and create correspondence on behalf of the program/program director.
• Assist during resident orientations.
• Ensure access to/troubleshoot challenges with necessary learning platforms used by residents.
• Support resident wellness, provide academic support, encourage growth opportunities and support learning development for residents.
• Participate in the implementation of training processes at all sites including, but not limited to, organizing rotations to ensure effective delivery of education.
• Monitor, tabulate, and report resident vacation/sick/time away from the program.
• Assist in process for residents in difficulty, liaising with the resident, program director and the PGME for remediation and extended learning plans.
• Work with the Program Director to ensure efficient delivery of educational rounds, scheduling, learning sessions, room bookings and communication of Department Grand Rounds that align with the program curriculum.
• Support elective/rotation planning – rotations and local, out of province electives and off-service electives.
• Compile reports and program correspondence, sometimes on behalf of the Program Director, Residency Program Committee and Competence Committee; book meetings, prepare agendas and minutes, track action items for meetings, compile reports to RPC for resident progression.
• Prepare program calendar.
• Prepare resident manuals, upgrade forms, templates, policies and guidelines.
• Coordinate and attend events eg: research day, CaRMS interviews.
• Track faculty and/or resident attendance for teaching rounds and PGME required courses.
• Submit part-time teaching hours for faculty for academic half days and OSCEs.
• Attendance at regularly scheduled PGME Program Administrator meetings and participation in the PGME PA mentorship program is expected.
• Travel to National Conferences and local workshops may be required.
• Travel to distributed site programs may be required.

Scheduling

• In consultation with the Program Director, prepare schedules and make approved changes to the annual resident schedules while ensuring each resident’s schedule is compliant with Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC)/College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) training requirements.
• Schedule academic half-days.
• Responsible for compiling resident call and distributing call changes.
• Update online call room booking system.
• Ensure preceptors know to expect a given resident and that residents know where to go for each block and ensure that the schedule is communicated to all stakeholders.
• Track call stipend and call conversions monthly and submit records to the PGME office.
• Schedule examinations.

Support for Evaluation and Examination

• Ensure timely dissemination and collection of resident assessments.
• Facilitate 6-month progress reports.
• Ensure face to face feedback is scheduled.
• Compile year-end summary reports (ie: faculty, CanMeds and Resident Evaluations).
• May assist with creating exams for residents.
• Proctor resident exams and coordinate regular Objective Structured Clinical Exams (OSCEs).
• This position may be involved in sensitive and confidential issues/meetings related to trainee performance.

Financial Transactions

• Assist in the tracking of program expenditures (if applicable).
• Submit stat day/middle day/excess call requests and call schedules (for residents’ call stipends) to the PGME office for reimbursement.
• Ensure purchases for program related supplies are completed using the USask procurement guidelines.
• Manage effectively the USask Purchase Card and submit timely monthly reconciliation as required.

Knowledge of Policies

• A strong specialized working knowledge of Royal College/CPFC accreditation standards, the RDoS collective agreement, CaRMS (Canadian Resident Matching Service), PGME policies & procedures, USask policies, as well as program processes and policies are imperative.
• Ensure processes within the program are adhered to, make recommendations to the Program Director for change in clerical process to enhance the operations of the program, and incorporate process changes as appropriate.

Electronic Platforms

• Liaise and coordinate with Telehealth.
• Create and maintain resident records efficiently through One45.
• Utilize Elentra for assessment, evaluation and CBE tracking (future functionality will include curriculum mapping and scheduling features).
• Assist residents with Concur to complete travel requests for electives, program mandatory events, rotations and courses.
• Use ConnectionPoint to process expenses and reimbursements.
• Update CanAMS (Accreditation Management System) regularly.
• Be familiar with CaRMS online portal.
• Have strong knowledge base and experience with virtual platforms such as Zoom.

CaRMS and Admission of Residents

• Disseminate information to applicants, update program information on websites.
• Assist the Program Director by administering CaRMS processes such as interview scheduling and interview day hosting, participating in selection committee meeting to take notes, answering questions and possibly providing feedback on an applicant.
• Provide coordination for the selection committee.
• Communicate throughout the process with the applicants.
• Orientate new residents, off-service residents and other rotations.
• Maintain close contact with the PGME office throughout the CaRMS process.

Accreditation Related Activities

• Enter and update information in CanAMS regularly.
• Participate in the accreditation process as necessary.
• Schedule meetings for reviewers and manage logistics as required.
• Ensure all documents are updated and readily available to the reviewers.
• In consultation with the Program Director, ensure all work is compliant with University and College policies and procedures, applicable regulations (RCPSC/CFPC) and accreditation standards as well as necessary collective agreements (RDoS).

Competence by Design (CBD) related Duties/Responsibilities

• Provide significant support when programs are being redesigned and changes are being implemented, such as during the transition to Competence by Design. Once changes have been implemented, PAs continue to ensure that their program is meeting new requirements.

Working with PGME, Program Administrators and University Staff

• Share required/requested information with PGME office in a timely manner.
• Mentor other program administrators.
• Be familiar with the PA SharePoint site.

Qualifications

Education

• Completion of Grade 12 and a recognized post-secondary business administration/administrative assistant program.

Experience

• Five to seven years of related experience in a University/Academic Health Care setting in a program support role is preferred.
• Knowledge of Royal College/College of Family Physicians of Canada Residency Training Programs.
• Familiarity with accreditation processes, USask and RDoS collective agreements and experience with One45 software are assets.

Skills

• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a highly confidential team environment with a demonstrated commitment to ongoing program development while maintaining attention to detail and accuracy.
• Coordinate and undertake multiple projects with competing demands and deadlines while maintaining a high degree of efficiency and accuracy.
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills – both written and verbal.
• Should be enthusiastic and self-motivated.
• Ability to recognize and recommend change in program policies/procedures which result in the improved delivery of administration.
• Exceptional organizational, problem-solving and decision-making skills.
• Knowledge of office software including MS office, Excel, Internet and E-mail, One45 Software, SharePoint and other University and Health Authority systems.