Education Days
GS RPAC Education Day Schedule

Curriculum Overview
GS RPAC Curriculum Overview

Dr. Lawrence M. Witmer's Medical Education Site
http://www.oucom.ohiou.edu/dbms-witmer/med-ed.htm

Mission Statement

The OU-COM CORE General Surgery Residency Program Advisory Committee (GS RPAC) is a statewide alliance of community-based osteopathic general surgeons, program directors, educators, scientists, and administrators dedicated to the education and training of osteopathic general surgeons.

As a group, we collaborate to preserve and protect the identity and integrity of osteopathic general surgery residencies by maintaining standards of excellence, developing educational strategies, sharing resources, promoting quality, and by providing systems of education that will be competitive in evolving health care environments by emphasizing a cost-effective, patient-centered, holistic approach.

The purpose of the General Surgery Residency Program Advisory Committee is to plan, organize, and implement programs to meet and exceed the standards of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons (ACOS), the requirements of the American Osteopathic Board of Surgery (AOBS).  This RPAC recognizes its commitment to continuing education and to serve as a liaison for students, interns, and residents pursuing careers in general surgery as well as primary care.  We accomplish our purpose and goals through a consortium approach involving collaboration, innovation, standardized curricula, continuous evaluation, and affiliation with Ohio University.  This philosophy governing the General Surgery Residency Program Advisory Committee embodies pursuit of excellence, the centrality of osteopathic principles and practices, compassionate patient care, and the conviction that superior educational programs are developed and maintained only through commitment of faculty as mentors and role models to life-long learning.

As a consortium, we share common goals to lead, direct, promote, and recruit for our distinctive residency programs.  We are committed to the pursuit of excellence in general surgery, osteopathic distinctiveness and the establishment of a university-like environment in our teaching centers that promotes respect for residents and colleagues.

In summary, our CORE values include commitments to:

• Development of excellent residency programs in general surgery;
• Integration of osteopathic principles and practices and basic sciences throughout the continuum of physician training;
• Establishment of effective and innovative academic, clinical, and research programs;
• Promotion of faculty development, curricular development, and scholarly activity;
• Maintenance of an appropriate balance among education, service, and research;
• Provision of patient education and preventive surgical practices;
• Provision of patients in our communities with quality health care;
• Provision of health services for indigent, underserved, and other vulnerable populations;
• Development of flexible, cost effective, ambulatory training models for an evolving health-care environment.

We are responsible to Ohio University, its College of Osteopathic Medicine, other COMs, the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons (ACOS), hospitals, directors of medical education, students, interns, residents, patients, colleagues, and the general public of the state of Ohio.  We will preserve and strengthen the osteopathic profession by promoting unity, loyalty, and advocacy for osteopathic ideals.