Clinical Cardiology Electrophysiology Fellowship Training

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

Evaluation Policy

1.      All CCEP residents will be evaluated quarterly by all the faculty, on-line (E*Value).  Housestaff are evaluated on all the 6 Core Competencies.   Other assessment methods include an Evaluation Committee made up of the faculty, review of the resident’s procedure log, and review of the resident’s ability to present and participate in conferences.   Peer, student, nurse, social worker, and other evaluations may be obtained at the program director's discretion (360 degree assessments).  These evaluations will remain anonymous, and can be reviewed by the resident only in aggregate.

2.      Residents are expected to complete evaluations of their attendings, rotations, and program.  In some cases, peer evaluations may be requested.  Program evaluation is done on a biannual basis, and faculty are evaluated three times yearly.  Evaluations are done on the  E*Value system and must be done in a timely fashion.  The oldest evaluation must be done first.  These evaluations are a mandatory part of training, and failure to complete them is considered unprofessional behavior. 

3.      Residents can review their evaluations at any time via online resources.  This includes raw evaluation data and comparative norms.

4.      Housestaff will meet with the Program Director (or Associate Program Director) every six months to review their evaluations.  A summary of this review will be placed in the resident's file.

5.      An unsatisfactory evaluation is defined as any evaluation that contains any one score of 3 on a 9-point scale or language in the comment section stating that the resident's performance was marginal, concerning, or otherwise not equal to the academic standards of the program.
a.   All unsatisfactory evaluations will trigger a meeting between the resident and the
      Program Director (or Associate Program Director) to review the evaluation.
      The Program Director, at their discretion, may also interview the attending,
      peers, nurses, or others connected with the rotation to obtain further details
      about the resident's performance.

      b.   After reviewing the available information, if in the Program Director's opinion
            the resident's performance was satisfactory, a note stating the results of the
            review will be filed in the resident's file and no further action will be required.                                    Otherwise, a defined period of remedial training (probation) may be necessary.                                     See Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital’s GME Fair Hearing Policy for more                              details.

6.      A "Critical Incident" is defined as any substantiated report to the Program Director or staff of: 1) clinical care resulting in sub-standard care or patient harm/near-harm, 2) complaints of unprofessional behavior from patients, family, or hospital staff, 3) absences from work or failure to complete duties without excuse, 4) suspicion of being under the influence of alcohol and/or recreational drugs while on duty OR dependence on alcohol or recreational drugs, 5) conference attendance of < 60%, 6) or any event of similar concern or magnitude (at the Program Director's discretion). All critical incidents will trigger the consequences of an Unsatisfactory evaluation plus the following:

a.       The details of the critical incident will be explored within 48 hours of report to the Program Director's office.

b.      At the Program Director's discretion, the resident may be removed from Direct Patient Care until the incident has been fully evaluated. The Housestaff QA committee will review the incident and recommend further action.

7.      Attending evaluation completion data will be followed by the Program Director and his/her staff.  Attendings that do not complete evaluations in a timely manner will be contacted, a letter written to their section chief, or a letter of concern filed with the department in their academic / promotions file if not addressed to the Program Director's satisfaction.

8.      The Program Assistant maintains the E-Value system and is responsible for adding all new house- staff to the data base. Once your name has been entered, E-value will create your user name and password.

9.2006