Chief Resident

The chief resident position is a one-year elected and salaried position, occupied by one of the third-year residents. The chief has a variety of academic and administrative responsibilities; however their primary functions are:

• To play a significant leadership role for the residency group
• To serve as a liaison between residents and faculty as well as hospital and clinic staff 

The chief resident will be assisted in their duties by an assistant chief resident.  Each of the other third-year residents will rotate these assistant chief responsibilities for a two- to three-month period.

Assistant Chief

The assistant chief works in conjunction with the elected third-year chief resident.  The rotation is two months long and coincides with the third-year psychiatry rotation.

• The position is shared among the remaining five third-year residents on a rotating basis  
• The assistant chief also works closely with medical director of the clinic, clinic manager, residency coordinator, and residency program director regarding resident concerns, residency requirements, and a variety of practice management issues 

Chief Resident Job Description

Overview
The chief resident position at Creekside is a one year elected and salaried position. The chief resident has a variety of academic and administrative responsibilities which are listed in more detail below, however, their primary function is to serve as a liaison between residents and faculty as well as hospital and clinic staff. The chief resident will be assisted in their duties by an assistant chief resident. Each of the other third-year residents will rotate these assistant chief responsibilities for a two- to three-month period. See Assistant Chief Resident Goals and Objectives below for more information. 

Training and Compensation
The elected chief will attend the Chief Resident Leadership Program, a three-day workshop in Kansas City in May of each year. There is also a follow-up workshop as part of this program at the AAFP Scientific Assembly in the fall. Attendance at both of these workshops is required. Expenses will be paid by the program.

The chief resident will be given the opportunity to attend the National Conference of Family Practice Residents in Kansas City at the end of July.  If the chief resident is unable to attend, they must assist the program coordinator in finding another second or third year resident to attend. Expenses will be paid by the program, and it is expected that the resident attending will assist in staffing the U of MN’s booth during the conference.

The chief resident will be allowed one half-day per week away from most of their rotations. This half-day will usually be on a Thursday morning in order to coincide with faculty meetings. There will be some rotations such as the FMIP rotation where time will not be able to be scheduled out.

Salary will be $2400 with installments paid monthly starting in July of the third year.

Academic Responsibilities

• Coordinate the weekly M & M conference
• • The chief will work with the interns to make sure there is a case to be presented and will coordinate with the assistant chief to ensure attendance of a third year resident at the conference
• Help the assistant chief resident when needed in the coordination of the Friday afternoon case conferences
• Attend faculty development and RED conferences at the U of MN
• Assist when appropriate in the planning of noon educational conferences
• Attend the EPCD (Educational Policy and Curricular Development) meetings at the U of MN
• If unable to attend, will coordinate attendance with the assistant chief resident
• Assist in orienting the new interns in June as determined appropriate by the program director, program coordinator, and the chief resident
• Assist with and provide input to the program director and faculty about the development of new educational experiences for the residents
• Assist in the education of medical students rotating at Creekside as determined appropriate by the program director and faculty

Administrative Responsibilities

• Make the call schedule for the academic year in April and May prior to beginning the chief year
• Help to facilitate call coverage in emergencies, illness, or conflicts
• • It is recognized that in most instances residents will make their own call trades, however in cases of emergencies or some illnesses the chief resident may need to be involved in finding coverage
• Attend faculty meetings
• These meetings are held on the first, third, and fourth Thursday mornings of each month
• The chief will serve as a spokesperson for the residents 
• The chief resident will attend only those portions of meetings that the program director deems educationally appropriate for the resident and will not attend any portion of a meeting in which fellow residents are being reviewed
• Coordinate and run the monthly open resident meeting
• Coordinate and run the monthly closed resident meeting when the assistant chief is not available
• Attend faculty retreats if the topic is appropriate
• Attend monthly nursing meetings or coordinate coverage of this with the assistant chief
• Assist residency coordinator with recruitment activities
• Attend recruitment committee meeting
• Assist in recruiting residents to help with tours and dinners
• Assist with recruiting residents for special events such as health fairs and the Luau
• Assist with and provide input to the program director and faculty about the development of new policies.
• In May and June, the existing chief will orient the newly elected chief in preparation for the coming year

Other Expectations
The chief resident is expected to maintain full academic responsibilities and remain in good academic standing while performing their duties as chief. The job description is subject to change to accommodate the needs of the residency.

Assistant Chief Resident Rotation Teaching Module

Rotational Goal
Residents will gain an understanding of leadership and practice management skills needed as a physician in a general family medicine practice.

Rotational Objectives
By the end of the assistant chief resident rotation, residents will be able to demonstrate competence in practice management and leadership as follows: 

(A) Patient Care
Through clinical experience gained as part of the assistant chief resident rotation, residents will be able to:

• Accurately compile data gathered by various team members in the family medicine clinic to maintain a comprehensive patient health history
• Appropriately refer patients to resources within and outside of the practice for assistance with insurance, billing, and access concerns

(B) Medical Knowledge
At the completion of the assistant chief resident rotation, residents will be able to demonstrate medical knowledge of practice management skills and leadership theory suitable for the family physician, to include being able to:

• Lead weekly M&M conferences when requested by the chief resident, contributing relevant discussion of pathophysiology and differential diagnosis
• Choose and distribute current and relevant articles and lead a critical discussion at monthly Journal Club noon conferences
• Discuss teaching skills learned at faculty development and RED seminars at the U of MN
• Describe components of various coding and billing levels for outpatient visits
• Discuss requirements for outpatient lab supervision
• Describe job duties and responsibilities of the levels of office and nursing staff
• Describe components of an effective staff interview for hiring and performance feedback

(C) Practice-based Learning and Improvement
At the completion of the assistant chief resident rotation, and subsequently in the family medicine clinic, residents will be able to:

• Critically evaluate evidence basis for teaching methodology
• Interpret and apply guidelines for hiring and firing employees when in practice

(D) Interpersonal and Communication Skills
At the completion of the assistant chief resident rotation, and subsequently in the family medicine clinic, residents will be able to:

• Effectively communicate with staff members and other physicians about organizational needs
• Give specific and constructive feedback to employees and learners

(E) Professionalism
During the assistant chief resident rotation, residents will exhibit characteristics of a professional health care provider by:

• Dressing appropriately based upon standards present for attending physicians in the setting associated with the assistant chief resident rotation
• Demonstrate sensitivity and responsiveness to real and perceived power differentials in the physician-staff interactions in the clinic setting
• Demonstrate fairness and openness in addressing the concerns of fellow residents
• Substantively contributing to the learning community in the residency, by attending and actively participating in the educational presentations associated with the assistant chief resident rotation

(F) Systems-based Practice
At the completion of the assistant chief resident, residents will be able to:

• Describe their own coding and billing patterns and comply with relevant regulations regarding billing
• Describe several different models of physician involvement in the management of the business details of a practice