My Conference Experience: Behind the Scenes with ACGME Executive Director, Osteopathic Accreditation Tiffany Moss

Tiffany Moss, MBA is the ACGME’s Executive Director, Osteopathic Accreditation, overseeing the administration of and providing staff support to the Osteopathic Principles Committee and the Review Committee for Osteopathic Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine. At the 2018 Annual Educational Conference she presented or co-presented three sessions. We asked her to share her experience and tell us about herself and her role at the conference.

Q: How long have you been with the ACGME and involved with the Annual Educational Conference?

A: I joined the ACGME in 2014, and have been involved in the Annual Educational Conference for the past four years. I have also helped to plan the Osteopathic Pre-Conference for the past four years, with two of those years in partnership with the Association of Osteopathic Directors Medical Educators (AODME).

Q: What do you most like about presenting at the conference?

A: I love being able to share the exciting work of the Osteopathic Principles Committee and the Review Committee for Osteopathic Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine. The Osteopathic Principles Committee, being the first ACGME Recognition Committee, has been blazing a new trail within the ACGME, establishing new processes, revising the requirements, and publishing guides to help strengthen programs’ approach to pursuing Osteopathic Recognition.

Q: What’s the hardest part?

A: It is hard to choose which sessions to attend! I want to attend them all!

Q: What’s the best/most rewarding part of your conference experience?

A: The most rewarding part is receiving feedback that my presentation was informative and that attendees are able to take the information I shared back to their programs to improve processes or communication with the Committee.

Q: What do you most look forward to about the conference?

A: I most look forward to catching up with GME colleagues from across the country, many of whom I typically only see once a year at this conference.

Q: What’s an average day like for you at the conference?

A: Long! I start my day with a large quantity of coffee and work e-mail. I try to respond to e-mail messages as soon as possible, since many of them of them are requests to have a meeting at the conference. I try to make as much time as possible to meet with DIOs, program directors, coordinators, etc. to address any questions they have. Aside from attending sessions, I meet with my Committee Chairs throughout the conference to discuss conversations we have had with program leadership/staff members and prepare for our update presentations. The evenings usually involve presentation preparation, more e-mails, and attendance at planned receptions and dinners.

Q: What do you hope attendees took away from your presentations?

A: I hope attendees found the presentations to be informative and that they were able to take away tips to improve their applications or existing recognized/accredited programs. I also hope that attendees understand how hard the Recognition Committee and Review Committee work to be responsive to concerns that come from the GME community. Both committees strive to provide timely resources to assist programs in the recognition and accreditation processes. My final hope is that attendees understand they can contact me with questions, big or small, after the conference. I say it so many times during my presentation that attendees probably think I am a broken record, but there are still programs that do not reach out when they have questions because they do not want to be a bother or think it might negatively affect their program’s status. Neither could be further from the truth. I am here to help!