ARCOS

Mission:
To establish a group of orthopaedic residency program coordinators recognized nationally by program directors and the orthopaedic community, designed to provide a support structure enabling residency program coordinators to better assist in the graduate medical education of orthopaedic residents.

Vision:
The ARCOS vision is to create a nationally recognized association of orthopaedic residency program coordinators, to provide an advocacy forum for orthopaedic residency program coordinators and to enhance the knowledge and skills of orthopaedic residency program coordinators through the continuous exchange of ideas and information.

Goals:
The current goals of ARCOS include introducing the existence of ARCOS to all orthopaedic residency programs, including subspecialties. ARCOS aims to achieve 100% participation among all orthopaedic residency programs at the ARCOS Annual Meeting. The publication of a newsletter and creation of a website is essential to promote the existence of ARCOS. ARCOS would also like to seek the recognition and support of a parent organization.

ARCOS was officially founded in February 2003 during the 70th Annual AAOS Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. After almost two years of intense work by the founding members, a committee structure of elected officers and written by-laws was finally developed. The founding members of ARCOS are as follows:

Todd W. Godfrey, President
Boston University Medical Center Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Training Program
Graduate Medical Education Residency Program Coordinator

Lorenzo Woo, President Elect
MSU / Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies
Program Manager, Orthopaedic Surgery and General Surgery

April Melson, Secretary
Orlando Regional Healthcare
Fellowship Education Coordinator, Orthopaedic Surgery and Pediatrics

Gail Driver, Treasurer
University of South Alabama
Residency Program Coordinator, Orthopaedic Surgery

Cynthia Bastien, Member-at-Large
NYU - Hospital for Joint Diseases
Residency Coordinator, Orthopaedic Surgery

Kathy Flesher, Member-at-Large
University of Texas Medical Branch
Residency Program Coordinator, Orthopaedic Surgery

Ellen Greenberger, Member-at-Large
University Hospital of Cleveland
Education Coordinator, Orthopaedic Surgery

Teri Hill, Member-at-Large
University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio
Residency Program Administrator, Orthopaedic Surgery

Norma Jean Simonsen, Member-at-Large
Johns Hopkins University
Residency Program Coordinator, Orthopaedic Surgery

Chris Standish, Member-at-Large
Grand Rapids MERC/MSU
Residency Program Coordinator, Orthopaedic/Colorectal Surgery

In October 2001, a group of approximately 30 Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Coordinators met during a round table session during the 5th Annual Residency Coordinators/Administrators National Center of Evaluation of Residency Programs (NCERP) Workshop. The idea of establishing an Association of Residency Coordinators was initiated by Dr. Fredrick N. Meyer, Chairman of Orthopaedics at the University of South Alabama. The idea was widely accepted by the 30 or so Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Coordinators attending the Round Table discussion. The meeting adjourned with the formation of a steering committee of the following six orthopaedic surgery residency coordinators was formed:

Donna Anderson, Indiana University School of Medicine
Cynthia Bastien, NYU Hospital for Joint Disease
Gail Driver, University of South Alabama
Kathy Flesher, University of Texas Medical Branch
Todd Godfrey, Boston University Medical Center
Chris Standish, St. Mary's Mercy Medical Center

The mission lived on during the 69th Annual AAOS Meeting in February, 2002 whereby Todd Godfrey, Chris Standish and a new comer, Norma Jean Simonsen of Johns Hopkins University met to continue brainstorming on how to get the association off the ground. A mass mailing went out to all the orthopaedic surgery residency programs to spread the word and get coordinators to attend the NCERP meeting in September 2002.

In September 2002, with the help of the six steering committee members, Todd Godfrey led a group of 60 Coordinators towards establishing the goal of forming a nationally recognized group of orthopaedic surgery residency program coordinators. A rejuvenated steering committee was formed to begin formalizing the association and met at the 70th Annual AAOS Meeting in February 2003. The new members were as follows:

Cynthia Bastien, NYU Hospital for Joint Disease
Gail Driver, University of South Alabama
Kathy Flesher, University of Texas Medical Branch
Todd Godfrey, Boston University Medical Center
Teri Hill, University of Texas San Antonio
April Melson, Orlando Regional Healthcare
Donna Roberts, Indiana University
Norma Jean Simonsen, Johns Hopkins University
Chris Standish, St. Mary's Mercy Medical Center
Monica Stuart, University of California-San Francisco
Lorenzo Woo, MSU / Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies