News

TAGME Update

TAGME UPDATE
September 2008

As TAGME continues to grow, I am pleased to report that orthopaedic surgery coordinators have kept up the pace! Twenty-seven ARCOS members are currently certified by TAGME as we swiftly move toward 2009.

The TAGME Monitored Assessment will be offered in Las Vegas, Nevada on Tuesday, February 24, 2009. As in years’ past, this is one day before the annual ARCOS Meeting is scheduled to begin (February 25-27, 2009). Within the next few weeks, official application information and registration forms will be posted on the TAGME website: http://tagme.org. The TAGME Monitored Assessment site will be announced as soon as details are finalized.

TAGME will also offer an “Open Assessment” opportunity on September 26, 2009. "Open Assessment" means that qualified coordinators from any TAGME approved clinical specialty can enroll in the certification process and sit for the Monitored Assessment at various sites across the United States. Application information, registration forms and a listing of sites will become available as the date nears, please check the TAGME website (http://tagme.org) for the latest updates.

TAGME continues to strive for excellence in methods of administering both the Work Effort Tool and the Monitored Assessment. TAGME’s most recent advancement relates to the Work Effort Tool. Certain questions on the Work Effort Tool are under revision so that beginning in 2009, no attachments to the Work Effort Tool will be required. This will eliminate the need for candidates to bring the Work Effort Tool to the Monitored Assessment site. All specialties will send the Work Effort Tool to candidates via e-mail on January 2, 2009 and all candidates must return the completed Work Effort Tool to their specialty contact via e-mail on/before March 31, 2009. This effort will standardize the amount of time for all candidates to complete the Work Effort Tool. In addition, this improvement streamlines the process for candidates and specialty review boards, enhances confidentiality, provides an electronic record for storage and is a step toward “greening” TAGME’s certification processes (it saves a tree or two!).

The TAGME Task Force has recently increased to include five members:

If you have questions or would like to discuss TAGME requirements for certification, please do not hesitate to contact a TAGME Task Force member or visit the TAGME website www.tagme.org,

Please plan now to take advantage of the next opportunity to apply for the certification process!

All the Best!

Gail Driver, C-TAGME
University of South Alabama - Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
Chair: ARCOS Task Force for Certification of Program Administrators in Orthopaedic Surgery

REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION

  • Three years on-the-job experience in orthopaedic surgery
  • Attendance at one national meeting that focuses on GME in the past three years
  • Participation in a site visit or internal review within the past three years
  • Personal professional development within the past three years, including presentations at national, state, institutional, or departmental level; poster presentations or manuscripts published.

A supportive verification form from the program director is also required: the application fee is $250.00.

THE TAGME CERTIFICATION PROCESS CONSISTS OF TWO PARTS

PART I: The Monitored Assessment includes a series of true/false, yes/no, or multiple choice questions taken from ABOS and ACGME guidelines and documents

  • Institutional requirements
  • Common program requirements
  • Glossary of Terms
  • Orthopaedic Surgery program requirements
  • Competencies
  • Acronyms commonly used by Graduate Medical Education
  • ABOS Rules and Procedures

Part I of the certification process will take place on September 27, 2008 at the locations listed above.

PART II: The Work Effort Tool is designed to assess the applicant’s knowledge of the function of his/her program and determine their ability to access information and knowledge of orthopaedic-specific requirements. The Work Effort is basically a document that is e-mailed to the applicant and can be downloaded and completed in the comfort of one’s own surroundings.

Upon successful completion of both required parts of the process, the names of successful candidates are recommended for certification to the TAGME Board of Directors and certification is then officially awarded.

The above letter of correspondence may be downloaded here.