Fiscal Year 2004 Performance and Accountability Report Published November 15, 2004
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FY 2004 Obligation ($ in Millions) |
% of Total VA Resources |
Strategic Goal 4: Contribute to the public health, emergency management, socioeconomic well-being, and history of the Nation. |
$1,039 |
1.5% |
Objective |
Performance Results
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4.3 Sustain partnerships with the academic community that enhance the quality of care to veterans and provide high-quality educational experiences for health care trainees. |
On a scale of 0-100, medical residents and other trainees scored their clinical training experience in VA at 83 (goal was 82) |
$493 |
0.7% |
Performance
VA is the largest provider of health care training in the United States. The Department conducts an education and training program for health professions students and residents that enhances the quality of care provided to veteran patients within the VHA health care system. VA's graduate medical education is conducted through affiliations with university schools of medicine. Each year some 28,000 medical residents and 16,000 medical students receive part of their clinical training in VHA facilities through affiliations with 107 of the Nation's 126 medical schools and over 1,200 educational institutions. VA supports 8,800 physician resident positions in almost 2,000 university programs accredited by the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education.
VA is a leader in the training of associated health professionals. Through affiliations with over 1,200 individual health professions schools and colleges, some 32,000 associated health students receive training in VA facilities each year. Clinical training and fellowships are provided to students in more than 40 professions, including nurses, pharmacists, dentists, audiologists, dietitians, social workers, psychologists, physical therapists, optometrists, nuclear medicine technologists, physician assistants, respiratory therapists, and nurse practitioners. In FY 2004, physician residents and other clinical trainees gave a score of 83 (on a scale of 0-100) to their VA clinical training experience, which is a good indicator that the Department is moving closer to achieving the primary aim of Objective 4.3.
Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) Evaluation
The PART evaluation conducted by the Administration during the development of the FY 2005 budget reviewed the medical care program. Medical education is part of the medical care program; however, the PART evaluation did not specifically cover any aspects of medical education as it relates to the accomplishment of Objective 4.3.
Major Management Challenges
Neither VA's Office of Inspector General nor the Government Accountability Office identified any major management challenges related to Objective 4.3.
Program Evaluations
There have not been any independent program evaluations conducted recently that specifically address Objective 4.3.
New Policies and Procedures
VA has conducted a Learners' Perceptions (LP) Survey of physician residents and clinical trainees every year since 2001. New policies and procedures have been established to enhance the process of conducting the survey and disseminating the results to assist in improving the clinical training experience. For example:
- VHA Directive 2003-032, Clinical Trainee Registration, was published on June 17, 2003, which mandated every clinical trainee to be registered via VistA, New Person File. This allows VA to contact trainees to complete the LP Survey and improve response rate.
- In FY 2004, the LP Survey questionnaire was changed from a paper to a Web-based questionnaire. This new process reduced survey administration costs and improved the feedback process to VA facilities.
- The results of the survey are e-mailed to each VISN along with facility-specific reports, which include comparative results of the past two surveys by type of trainee. The reports include information about the purpose, background, methodology used, and major learning domains. In addition, facility highlights are provided to assist management in identifying areas for improvements. The reports are also made available on the Web.
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