Letter From Peggy Baldwin

Dear ARCOS Members:

First of all I would like to introduce myself. My name is Peggy Baldwin, and I am the residency program coordinator for Wright State University, Boonshoft School of Medicine, orthopaedic surgery residency training program.

My career began about twenty years ago at the University of Oklahoma Health Science Center in the family practice residency program. After 10 years in that position, I moved to Ohio and joined the residency program in general surgery. In April 1999, I came to work in the orthopaedic surgery department as academic assistant to the chair/program director and the support person to four faculty members.

When the residency coordinator here quit in the middle of our August 2002 site review it was left to me to pick up the pieces and run with the ball. Even though I had worked and helped the coordinator, I had no idea how to "be" a residency coordinator, much less organize a site visit! Although I learned things as I went along, I was so overwhelmed I wondered "how does just one person do this job?" When the site visit was over, I was asked if I wanted the job. I thought about it and decided that either I could take the job and learn as I go, or they would hire someone off the street and we would end up learning the job together. So I decided I would just take the job myself and learn as I went! At that time, there were no real networking opportunities so I made a lot of phone calls to the ACGME, AAOS, AMA, and ABOS (poor Patsi, I think she was really tired of hearing my voice!).

Then one day I received a letter from ARCOS inviting me to the newly formed Association of Residency Coordinators for Orthopaedic Surgery meeting. I gave the information to my program director and told him that I would really like to go to the first meeting to see if it would help me with my job: he supported me the whole way. I learned so much from the first meeting and met so many other coordinators that I could network with that now I am not sure how any of us have managed without ARCOS! When we had our site visit in September 2005 I put my ARCOS networking to the test and we received a five-year accreditation! I honestly don't think it would have been possible without the help of my fellow coordinators and ARCOS!

The yearly meetings in conjunction with the AAOS are a great source of knowledge and they have a great line up of speakers to help keep us keep informed of the always changing ACGME policies and procedures. We are now able to put names and faces together of the individuals we deal with through the AAOS, ABOS, AMA and the ACGME and it's not such a terrifying thing to have to call and speak with Dr. Nestler now, because we know him as a real person and not "as the terrifying wizard" as Dorothy had to deal with in the Wizard of OZ!

I think every orthopaedic residency coordinator should become a member of ARCOS and their program should back them the whole way. We are the program director's right hand and when we know our job, it makes their job so much easier. Plus, now we have ARCOS and the networking capability ARCOS provides to help us with that responsibility.

Now, for the best part! I have never really won anything before so to win the ARCOS $1500 educational grant this year was a huge surprise. I know it is very hard to stay until the very end of the ARCOS meetings, especially when you are in these great places to tour and visit and you have such little time for that, but it pays to stay until the very end. I have to thank all of those whose names were called before me and left; if they had stayed, I wouldn't have won! My program director told me to use the money to help me with my job and the residency so I bought books and a lap top computer. Thanks ARCOS for your support!

Sincerely,

Peggy Baldwin
Residency Program Coordinator
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
Wright State University