National Academy of Osteopathic Medical Educators

The National Academy of Osteopathic Medical Educators (NAOME) is a community of outstanding educators who have met rigorous standards of academic excellence within the last five years. The presentations on this page offer a quick overview of the Academy and steps to apply for a NAOME fellowship. 

Purpose

The purpose of the Society of Osteopathic Medical Educators' National Academy of Osteopathic Medical Educators is to:

• Foster and value the scholarship of teaching and learning.
• Provide role modeling and support for educators in osteopathic medical education programs.
• Foster networking and collaboration among institutions of osteopathic medical education by providing a forum for the exchange of ideas about educational endeavors including teaching, evaluation, curriculum design and implementation, faculty development and educational research.

Expectations

Active NAOME Fellows contribute to the work of the Academy in several of the following ways:

• Serve as a role model and mentor for others at all levels in the profession.
• Mentor academy applicants in the development of their mini-portfolio.
• Participate in annual Academy events such as the annual Academy meeting at Educating Leaders, the AACOM Annual Conference, and attend regularly scheduled fellow meetings (typically virtual meetings).
• Mentor applicants for Educating Leaders abstracts or AACOM Research Grants.
• Participate in the vetting of ideas/projects at the SOME steering committee's request.
• Participate in the selection of SOME award recipients.
• Act as a “think tank” on issues relevant to osteopathic medical education.  It is anticipated that programs may be developed and delivered at Educating Leaders, AACOM Annual Conferences, and at osteopathic medical education program sites.
• Interact with other NAOME fellows to create and maintain a high-level, proactive, and effective educational resource for the osteopathic medical profession.

NAOME Structure and Activities

The National Academy of Osteopathic Medical Educators (NAOME) promotes and supports osteopathic medical education scholarship. Members of the Academy demonstrate their support by evaluating AACOM Educational Research Grants, providing peer review and award recommendations for the AACOM Educational Research Abstracts at the annual meeting, serving as mentors for peer and colleague osteopathic medical educators, and selecting new Fellows to the Academy.

Officers

The Academy is governed by elected officers that serve for two year terms.  The current officers are:

• Chair: Machelle Linsenmeyer, EdD (WVSOM)
• Chair-elect: Sherry Jimenez, EdD (LMU-DCOM)
• Past-chair: Luke Mortensen, PhD (ICOM)
• Secretary: Jennifer Fischer, PhD (Rowan-VirtuaSOM)

Committees

In order to maintain consistent, high-quality support of osteopathic medical education scholarship; NAOME augments its governance with four subcommittees. Each of these subcommittees consists of leadership and membership from the Academy. The subcommittees aim to seek and provide feedback to Academy members as well as promote transparency of the Academy operations and outcomes to the osteopathic community. The subcommittees are:

AACOM Abstract & Poster Review Committee
This committee ensures fair and consistent evaluation of abstracts for Educating Leaders, the AACOM Annual Conference through periodic review of the selection criteria and recruitment of abstract reviewers. Additionally, the committee determines the Best Research Posters for the conference.  This committee is led by Christopher Keller, PhD, LECOM (chair) and Wayne Wilson, PhD, DMU-COM (co-chair).

AACOM Research Grant Review Committee
This committee ensures fair and consistent evaluation of AACOM Educational Grants through periodic review of the evaluation criteria and recruitment of proposal reviewers. This committee is led by Natasha Bray, DO, MSEd, OSU-COM (chair) and Elizabeth McClain, PhD, ARCOM (co-chair).

NAOME Bylaws Committee
This committee ensures that the practices and policies of the academy are aligned by providing oversight and updates to the governing bylaws. The committee strives to use clear and inclusive language to support the functions and members of the academy. The most recent revisions to the bylaws were approved in 2023. This committee is led by Matthew Henry, PhD, DMU-COM (chair).

NAOME Fellow Mentoring Committee
This committee manages the mentoring process for new and potential NAOME applicants. It also oversees the mentoring process for proposals for Educating Leaders, AACOM Research Grants, and SOME Innovation Awards.  This committee is led by Martin Schmidt, PhD, DMU-COM (chair) and Amina Sadik, PhD, MS, MEdL, TouroCOM (co-chair).

NAOME Fellow Selection Process Committee
This committee provides oversight of the annual Fellow selection process by monitoring and updating application materials, providing standard setting examples, and orchestrating the selection process.  This committee is led by Patricia Sexton, DHEd, ATSU-KCOM (chair) and Leonard Powell, DO Rowan-VirtuaSOM (co-chair). 

Membership

Term

Membership in the National Academy of Osteopathic Medical Educators is for a five-year term. This term is renewable upon submission and acceptance of the Educator's Portfolio, by the Review Panel. The portfolio must show continued productivity equivalent to the original criteria in the same, or a different, chosen category.

Renewal

Members submitting for re-appointment to the Academy based on new accomplishments in the category used for initial membership must include in the nomination letter their new portfolio and a statement confirming that none of the substantiating evidence included in the current portfolio is the same evidence used in the portfolio for their previous membership award (i.e., begins after their induction or renewal or is different evidence).  Applicants for re-appointment may also submit a portfolio based on scholarship representing a different impact category.