Resident Eligibility and Selection Policy

The Graduate Medical Education Committee will be responsible for ensuring that programs select from among eligible applicants on the basis of their preparedness, ability, aptitude, academic credentials, communication skills, and personal qualities such as motivation and integrity. 

Programs must maintain the Hospital’s employment policies which oppose discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, disability or military status.

Introduction

The Allegheny Health Network Medical Education Consortium is committed to providing all residents with a balanced comprehensive professional education which is based on the principles of contemporary adult education. The goal is to create a learning environment in which residents will learn the fundamental principles that govern the practice of medicine, and also develop the clinical skills to provide the full continuity of patient care. This learning environment fosters
educational development by incorporating the principles of a commitment to
lifelong learning, the value of cooperative, collaborative team work, and the
importance of the psychosocial aspects of patient care.

Procedure

Resident eligibility

Applicants with one of the following qualifications are eligible for appointment to accredited residency programs in the Allegheny Health Network Medical Education Consortium (the Consortium). Additional eligibility requirements as defined by the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education’s (ACGME) Common Program Requirements within Section III. A (2016 Revision) must also be followed for ACGME-accredited training programs.

• Graduates of medical schools in the United States and Canada accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME)
  
• Graduates of colleges of osteopathic medicine in the United States accredited by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA); or an applicant who has completed an internship in an AOA accredited program
  
• Graduates of colleges of Podiatric Medicine in the United States accredited by the Council of Podiatric Medical Education (CPME)
  
• Graduates of medical schools outside the United States and Canada who meet one of the following qualifications:
  
  • Have received a currently valid certificate from the Education Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) or
    
  • Have a full and unrestricted license to practice medicine in a U.S. licensing jurisdiction
    
• Graduates of medical schools outside the United States who have completed a Fifth Pathway program (as defined by the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education’s Institutional Requirement IV.A.2.c).(3)) provided by an LCME-accredited medical school
  
• Graduates of an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accredited Internal Medicine Residency Program
  
• Graduates of an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) or a Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada accredited General Surgery Residency Program 
• Graduates of an American Dental Association accredited dental school – applicants for the OMFS and General Dentistry Residency Programs 
  
• U.S. Citizenship or appropriate visa status – H-1B visas will not be sponsored by the West Penn Allegheny Health System for residency training.* Determination of eligibility of applicants as related to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) approvals of appropriate non-immigrant visa eligibility will be made based on ECFMG and Department of State (DOS) requirements for the J-1 visa 
  
  • Resident legal status in the United States is reviewed annually by the Department of Graduate Medical Education and required petitions/applications/renewals are filed according to need. It is the resident’s ultimate responsibility to maintain valid non-immigrant status and valid work authorization
    
  • Deadlines are meticulously met. Training is not continued if required non-immigrant status and the accompanying eligibility for US employment is not acquired 

Resident selection

The Graduate Medical Education Committee will be responsible for ensuring that programs select from among eligible applicants on the basis of their preparedness, ability, aptitude, academic credentials, communication skills, and personal qualities such as motivation and integrity. Programs must maintain the Hospital’s employment policies which oppose discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, disability or military status.

In selecting from among qualified applicants, all Consortium-sponsored programs will participate in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) or other appropriate matching programs.

Selection of candidates for positions in Consortium-sponsored programs will be based on the following criteria:

• Appropriate academic performance in undergraduate medical education
• Letters of recommendation; for positions in internal medicine subspecialties one letter must be from the internal medicine program director; for positions in thoracic surgery one letter must be from the general surgery program director 
  
• Letters will be reviewed for evaluation of the candidate’s clinical skills, fund of knowledge, leadership skills, quality of research, clinical judgement, ability to form productive professional relationships with peers, attending physicians, nursing personnel, and ancillary support personnel
  
• Demonstrated scholarly activity - completed abstracts, publications in peer-reviewed journals, presentations at local/regional/national conferences 
  
• Current curriculum vitae
  
• Completed application form
  
• Personal interview with the program’s faculty and resident

Rank list of candidates will be prepared by faculty consensus with final approval by the Program Director.

The number of candidates selected each year by the residency programs will be dependent upon the following criteria:

• The program’s approved total accredited resident complement
• The program’s total number of Consortium-approved and funded positions

Allegheny General Hospital, West Penn Hospital, Saint Vincent Hospital and Forbes Hospital understand that the enrollment of non-eligible residents may be a cause for withdrawal of accreditation of the involved program. Therefore, all Consortium-sponsored programs will comply with the established policy and procedures for resident eligibility and selection.