Friday, May 9, 2025
Rising up to fill a significant need, the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine’s Academy for Program Coordinators is holding its first annual education conference on the campus of The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth. Led by TCOM’s Graduate Medical Education Institutional Coordinator Aurea Baez-Martinez, MS, C-TAGME, the conference will be the first of its kind that bring together GME
program coordinators from across the nation. The goal of the conference is to enhance
GME success while prioritizing certification, innovation, and creating and maintaining
safe spaces for the coordinator community.
Heads Up On Wednesday, February 19, 2020.
University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth Texas College of Osteopathic
Medicine's Aurea Baez-Martinez, BA, MS, C-TAGME – Photo By Joyce Marshall
“We want the attendees to experience an event that will allow them to connect with other colleagues and to continue their professional growth,” Baez-Martinez said. “There is a joy I feel when I see my colleagues in person, especially when I don’t get the opportunity to see them in that capacity as much as I would like to. I call this our family reunion. This also allows us to bring much-needed topics to an audience that benefits from them. Our programming also tackles well-being, which is a trending topic for coordinators, as we are often overlooked in these efforts.”
Just a few years ago, this type of “family reunion” was not possible; in fact, the academy didn’t even exist. The numbers show a community of more than 11,000 coordinators in institutions and programs across the nation, but no professional group, no direct development opportunities, and no chances to collaborate and share best practices. This was a problem that TCOM’s dean and vice president of clinical affairs, Lisa Nash, DO, MS-HPeD, FAAFP, saw years ago and asked Baez-Martinez to address.
“Dr. Nash saw the need for something more directed for this community, which was requested from coordinators who attend the TCOM GME Academy,” Baez-Martinez said. “In a needs assessment, someone requested programming specifically designed for this community, for which we just jumped in and started. Our first year was 2021-2022 and it was directed towards local coordinators at that time. I asked if there was a possibility of expanding to the national level, for which we got the approval and started in 2022. Since then, the growth has been continuous, and more coordinators join the Facebook and LinkedIn groups and ask to be added to our email list.”
University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth Texas College of Osteopathic
Medicine's Williams-Hall, MBA – Photo By Joyce Marshall
GME program coordinators handle quite a workload. They manage the day-to-day administration of residency and fellowship training programs, ensuring compliance with accreditation standards and regulatory requirements. They support program directors, manage budgets, coordinate schedules and assist with the recruitment of residents. In short, a national group like this was long overdue.
“There are not enough groups that focus specifically on institutional and program coordinator professional development,” Baez-Martinez said.
The response to the creation of the academy has been overwhelming. The team from TCOM, which includes Kimberly Warfield, C-TAGME, and Nicole Williams-Hall, MBA, provides free monthly development sessions while also offering coordinators education credit hours for them to apply towards their certification from the Training Administrators of Graduate Medical Education.
The two-day conference, entitled “Coordinating with Confidence: Cultivating Expertise, Certification, and Psychological Safety in Medical Education is May 15-16. It features panels, breakout sessions, an OMM soft tissue clinic, poster and research presentations and a keynote address from Helene Alphonso, DO.
“I’m beyond proud of Aurea and our entire APC team for their tireless and visionary work in launching this first-of-its-kind conference,” said Dr. Sajid Surve, senior associate dean of educational programs at TCOM. “While I know that attendees will learn a great deal from the programming in store, my larger hope is that APCs find community in one another, and leave with a sense that they belong to this integral profession within medical education.”
University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine's Kimberly Warfield – Photo By Joyce Marshall
The growth of the academy began booming a few years ago, and the team added Facebook and LinkedIn groups and a YouTube channel to share recordings and sessions for those who are unable to attend. Suffice it to say, four years later, TCOM’s Academy for Program Coordinators has filled a significant void.
“In recent years, it has become increasingly important to reach this community as the accreditation requirements continue to change and the increase in responsibilities and leadership changes,” Baez-Martinez said. “These are important members of the leadership team, and we feel that they need to understand how important they are to their institutions and programs and give them the tools they need to succeed and continue to grow in their professional lives.
From HSC Newsroom - Community by Steven Bartolotta