Competency Corner - Clinical Case Reports for the JAO
2008, Volume 1, Number 2 46 JAO Announces Competency Corner Have you noticed that the major ophthalmic journals are accepting fewer and fewer (if at all) case re-ports these days? Have you also been struggling to find case examples for teaching specific non-medical knowl-edge ACGME competencies and meeting the requirements for the ACGME mandate? What do these two obser-vations have to do with one another you ask? The answer may be a simple and novel educational innovation that will debut in the . This newest addition to the JAO will be called the Competency Corner , and it will not only allow authors a venue for publishing single case reports but also teach and assess specific ACGME compe-tencies using a process that incorporates self reflection. At the University of Iowa, residents present a case report at our ophthalmology grand rounds that exem-plifies not just an interesting medical knowledge or patient care case vignette but also teaches them (i.e., self reflection) and their colleagues about specific non-medical knowledge related ACGME competency domains (e.g., systems based practice, professionalism, communication skills, etc...). Residents then publish their work on line so that other residents and other programs can access the vignette and use the structured case format as a platform for future small group discussions or ophthalmology grand rounds presentations at other institutions. Readers are encouraged to view these cases at Eyerounds.org. Some examples of competency cases that have been or will be published include communication and professionalism issues surrounding alternative therapies; the importance of documenting pertinent negatives; and using the time out prior to intraocular lens insertion. We hope that you will take advantage of this opportunity to dust off any case reports that you may have buried in your bottom desk drawer and retool them for teaching and assessing the ACGME competencies. I think that the Competency Corner is an exciting addition to the Journal and I encourage you to encourage your residents to submit their work for review in the (www.academic-ophthalmology.com). Andrew G. Lee, MD Editor-in-Chief, JAO andrew-lee@uiowa.edu