President: S. Spencer Scott, General Surgery
Vice President: Joe Minichiello, Emergency Medicine
Representatives:
Madison Hopkins, OB/GYN
Architha Sudhakar, Urology
Kailey Kowalsi, Internal Medicine
Fellow Representative: Kimberly Toomire, Hematology & Oncology
DEI Representative: Rebecca Cusack, Neurology
Safety and Quality Improvement Representative: Jake Gelman, Pulmonology & Critical Care
E-mail the GME at: GMEMedEd@mmc.org
Designated Institutional Official: Kalli Varaklis, MD, MSEd
GME Program Manager: Ryan Richards
GME Program Coordinator: Jacquee Boucher
The Maine Medical Center House Staff Association Mission Statement
The House Staff Association (HSA) Officers exists to improve the overall experience at Maine Medical Center. Areas of focus include:
Promote wellness for all residents and fellows both in and out of the hospital
Address specific concerns of residents and fellows
Advocate for the House staff within the Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC)
Improve the educational experience of residents and fellows at MMC
Improve overall patient care by promoting resident involvement and performance
Encourage resident/fellow involvement at the hospital level through participation in hospital committees
Our Vision: To be the leading resource for House Staff wellness in the State of Maine
Our Mission: Providing centralized leadership, support, and expertise necessary to promote resident and fellow wellness, education, leadership, community involvement, and collaboration across the continuum of medical education
Membership
Any MMC interns, residents, and fellows are invited to attend all HSA meetings and contribute to the meetings. They will not however have voting privileges.
Officers will be elected by the House staff and will serve a term of one year.
The President and Vice President must have served previously for at least one term as an HSA officer.
The term will start in June and go for 12 months. This will allow for the past president to help with the transition before leaving the institution.
There must be at least two HSA officers present for a minimum of 8 out of the 10 annual GMEC meetings (typically the 4th Wednesday of every month from 4-5 PM)
Officers must attend a minimum of 10 of the 12 HSA meetings
Meetings
Meetings will be held monthly at the discretion of the leadership
All meetings are open to all house staff
Purpose
To foster communication between house officers and the administration and staff at MMC and associated hospitals.
To foster communication among house officers from different hospital departments.
To provide a means by which house officers can actively participate in the formation and change of policy that affects patient care. Specifically, this will be achieved by active participation in quality improvement projects, membership and various hospital committees, etc.
To provide a means to monitor the quality of benefits provided to house officers.
To optimize the educational experience by house staff.
To contribute to house staff wellness by providing resources and opportunities for healthy living inside and outside of the hospital setting.
HSA Officer Roles:
President
The President is largely responsible for organizing and directing the efforts of the organization. Elected President must serve for 1 year as a previous HSA officer. There is a $1,500 a year stipend for this position.
Presides and sets agendas for meetings
Finalizes schedule for events, classes and other HSA resident/fellow activities
Obtains appropriate facilities are obtained for HSA sponsored activities
Is present at any HSA event they are able to attend
Maintains frequent contact including regular meetings with organization advisor, Dr. Kalli Varaklis, MD, MSEd, Graduate Medical Education Dept.
Attends minimum of 10 out of 12 GMEC meetings
Coordinates organization elections
Represents HSA at official functions
Serves as a role model and representative to the HSA and how membership should behave and be involved in the group
Vice President
The Vice President’s role is also often defined by the organization constitution and represents the “right hand person” for the President. There is a $1,000 a year stipend for this positon.
Assume duties of President as needed.
Serves as “ex-officio” member of standing committees or committees may report to the Vice President.
Committees include: Medical Records, Transfusion, Medical Executive and Provider Health and Well-Being committees
Attends minimum of 10 out of 12 GMEC meetings
Coordinates HSA recruitment efforts and elections
Represents HSA at official functions
Serves as a role model and representative to the HSA and how membership should behave and be involved in the group
House Officer Representatives
House Officer Representatives serve as additional voting members of the House Staff Association. Their role is to serve as liaisons to the House Staff at large and contribute to the HSA's work of advocacy on behalf of trainees at Maine Medical Center. There is a stipend of $500 for each representative.
Contributes to decision making and planning around HSA activities and event coordination
Attends minimum of 10 out of 12 GMEC meetings
Represents HSA at official functions
Helps in the coordination of HSA elections
Serves as a role model and representative to the HSA and how membership should behave and be involved in the group
Within the role of the Representatives, there are three broad categories of responsibilities shared by these members.
Secretary
Keeps a record of all members, meetings, and activities
Creates and distributes agenda minutes from meetings
Treasurer
Maintains financial records of HSA with the aid of Dept. of GME
Ensures payment of all bills and invoices with the aid of Dept. of GME
Helps maintain an annual budget with the aid of medical education
Communications
Ensures proper notification of House Staff regarding upcoming HSA sponsored events
Maintains HSA website and Facebook Marketplace
Fellow Representative
The Fellow Representative is an additional voting members of the House Staff Association who must be in fellowship. Their role is to ensure there is a specific liaison to the members of the House Staff who are in fellowship and may have unique concerns separate from resident trainees. As with the other Representatives, they contribute to the HSA's work of advocacy on behalf of trainees at Maine Medical Center. There is a stipend of $500 for this role.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Representative
The DEI Representative serves as an additional voting member of the House Staff Association. This Representative's focus is in diversty, equity, and inclusion, and they are specifically tasked with serving on the DEI GME subcommittee. There is a stipend of $500 for this role. This representative serves a two year term.
Quality Improvement and Safety Representative
The Quality Improvement and Safety Representative serves as an additional voting member of the House Staff Association. This Representative's focus is in Quality Improvement and afety. They are tasked with serving on the QuIPS subcomittee. Additionally, they review any RL Solution generated by a House Staff member. There is a $500 stipend for this role.
Last updated June, 2024