Stephen C. Shannon, DO, MPH
President

Highlighting Osteopathic Medical Educators

In this issue of Inside OME, AACOM announces the selection of the inaugural class of Fellows of the National Academy of Osteopathic Medical Educators (NAOME). The selection of these individuals, and the initiation of NAOME, is a significant event for osteopathic medical education (OME). The Academy marks an important step in fulfilling AACOM’s mission to promote “excellence in osteopathic medical education, in research and in service, and foster innovation and quality among osteopathic colleges to improve the health of the American public.”

NAOME was initiated by AACOM’s faculty-based Society of Osteopathic Medical Educators (SOME), which consists of more than 350 faculty members. (See details on SOME’s purpose, membership criteria, resources, special interest groups, etc.)  NAOME was established to both recognize the achievements of educators throughout our undergraduate, graduate and continuing medical education system, and to develop a group of mentors for collaboration and innovation throughout OME.  While there are a number of such academies based in U.S. allopathic medical colleges and other health professional schools, this is the first national program and marks a highly significant development for the continuous quality improvement of OME.

Great care was taken in the development of NAOME. The program was established after consultation within SOME and the AACOM Board of Deans, as well as consultation with external individuals familiar with the establishment and ongoing development of other national and international faculty academies. The widely recognized Baylor College of Medicine’s Fulbright & Jaworski Faculty Excellence Award Program was chosen as a model for the development of NAOME. The Baylor program’s director, Nancy Searle, EdD, provided valuable consultation and training throughout this process, including the provision of webinars on the development of an education portfolio that reflects academic scholarship and the implementation of an NIH-like review process for the submitted portfolios. Detailed criteria for membership and a rigorous selection process were established in order to initiate NAOME (See full details on all aspects of this program). 

NAOME members are selected for a term of five years, during which they are expected to act as role models and provide mentorship to others throughout our educational system. To maintain membership at the conclusion of their term, each Fellow must repeat the review process along with all other applicants, and present evidence that they have continued to meet the criteria for selection (including new academic scholarship since their previous review). Thus, this designation is not only recognition of previous academic scholarship, but also of ongoing achievement in osteopathic medical education.

I believe that NAOME will provide a critical resource for OME at a time of significant change in our colleges and graduate medical education systems. The innovations driven by this group can serve us all well as we work to implement competency-based training and evaluation, information technology-driven transformation, interprofessional education, evidence-based education and practice, and other educational initiatives. As we seek to prepare future DOs to practice in a health care system that is in the midst of transformation, I congratulate all those who were chosen for NAOME. I look forward to the fellows’ ongoing and needed contributions as osteopathic medical education both gains wider recognition and continues to prepare the physicians our nation needs to confront its current and future health care challenges.