Co-Chairs

Ashton Sequeira, MD, Cardiology

Nadia Khalil, MD, Neurology

The co-chairs will divide the responsibility of club leadership among fellow chairs and members and maintain committee structure. They will lead the committee in setting annual goals and keep those goals in mind as the committee progresses throughout the year.

Objectives of the Co-Chair/President

1. Lead the committee to achieve its goals for the year.
2. Preside effectively at meetings.
3. Organize and direct the work for the committees.
4. Prepare for the future success of RAC by setting and completing goals.

Immediate Past Co-Chair

Krishen Patel, MD, Gastroenterology

The immediate past co-chair will assist the co-chairs, as needed to provide continuity from one year to the next. They will assist in setting annual goals for the committee and keep those goals in mind as the committee progresses throughout the year.

Objectives of the Co-Chair/President

1. Lead the committee to achieve its goals for the year.
2. Preside effectively at meetings.
3. Organize and direct the work for the committees.
4. Prepare for the future success of RAC by setting and completing goals.

Communications Chairs

Mason Garland Pearce, MD, Surgery

Kristina Gemayel, DO, Plastic Surgery

The Communications Chair will devote sufficient time to the various details of the committee and be responsible for communications made on behalf of the committee, meeting minutes, and dissemination of information from the committee to the house staff.

Objectives of the Communications Chair

1. Maintain all RAC social media accounts.
2. Record and keep minutes of all meetings.
3. Maintain all club correspondence including creation of monthly newsletter (to be distributed to all house staff no later than 1 week after each monthly meeting).
4. Create and manage central storage location (Google Drive, Drop box, etc.) for committee documents.

Administrative Chair

Sonya Bhaskar, MD, Gastroenterology

The administrative chair will be responsible for maintaining RAC presence at GMEC meetings in conjunction with the President/Vice President, ensuring CLER issues are addressed, and facilitate reporting of medical errors by house staff.

Objectives of the Admin Chair

1. Summarize findings from CLER visit and ensuring CLER issues are addressed.
2. Attend GMEC meeting or delegate this responsibility to a counterpart if unavailable.
3. Provide a brief written summary of issues or items discussed at GMEC that are of pertinence to RAC.
4. Facilitate/encourage reporting of medical errors by house staff in conjunction with the Safety Chair and summarize findings quarterly with brief written summary presented to RAC.
5. Organize training track member roles and assignments.

Research Chair

Khalid Shakfeh, MD, Internal Medicine

The research chair will be responsible for maintaining awareness research efforts and opportunities at the various hospitals and maintaining the database of available projects and faculty member contact information.

Objectives of the Research Chair

1. Continue to investigate possibility of building a research hot spot/website to include available faculty and projects at the various hospitals.
2. Work in conjunction with QI Chair to foster QI projects (Value Equation/Value based practice project).
3. Disperse information to incoming residents on how to become involved in research.
4. Assist in research grant selection process.
5. Serve as a mentor to a training track member.

Quality Improvement Chair

Juan Enciso, DO, JAHVA Chief Resident in Quality & Patient Safety

The QI chair will be responsible for quality improvement that spans the faculty and house staff.

Objectives of the QI Chair

1. Work in conjunction with Research Chair to foster QI projects.
2. Work along with USF/TGH QI initiative.
3. Attend QI meetings and serve as an alternate for Safety meetings at TGH or delegate this responsibility to a counterpart if unavailable.
4. Provide a brief written summary of information learned from these meetings to RAC.
5. Serve as a mentor to a training track member.

Social Chairs

Autumn N. Bass, DO, Emergency Medicine

Kimberly Menezes, MD, Ophthalmology

Christian Schmidt, MD, Orthopaedic Surgery

The social chairs will plan events that foster unity in the program and in the community. This will also align with some of the goals of resident wellness. They will set dates for and select events. They will be liaisons between USF GME and the community. They will be responsible for fundraising for and hosting the events.

Objectives of the Social Chair

1. Organize social events throughout the academic year for residents
2. One larger party/event in fall for adults (historically Halloween party)
3. One larger event in spring for families (historically zoo, Bush Gardens, MOSI, or aquarium)
4. Work in conjunction with the President/Vice President to improve the TGH GME space

Chief Resident Liaison

Matthew Gliksman, MD, Otolaryngology

The chief resident liaison will be responsible for attending and overseeing chief resident meetings and relaying the information to RAC. Will also be a point of contact for various departmental chiefs throughout the year for program specific issues that arise.

Objectives of the Chief Resident Liaison

1. Organized and attend quarterly chief resident meetings and relay information gained from these meeting to the RAC.
2. Contact person for resident issues/complaints throughout the year.
3. Create and oversee the Peer Review Committee.

Technology Chair

The technology chair will be responsible for website issues and maintenance. Will help format monthly newsletter. Will be a point of contact for EMR issues. Assist with any website, e-mail, data management, desktop publishing, or other issues that may arise.

Objectives of the Technology Chair

1. Create, update, and maintain RAC website.
2. Evaluate resident technology efforts and needs.
3. Work to create standard handoff protocol at TGH (IPASS, Epic, etc).
4. Evaluate different program websites and provide assistance with updating and improving them.

Diversity Chair

Lazaro Mesa, MD, Orthopaedic Surgery

The diversity chair will be responsible for attending Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion subcommittee meetings and communicate ongoing projects with the resident community. The overarching goals for the diversity chair are to improve resident well-being as well as patient care by maintaining a dedication to resident representation of all backgrounds and creating a medical workforce that better reflects the population we serve.

Objectives of the Diversity Chair

1. Aid with developing resources for the diversity web page.
2. Support projects related to health disparities.
3. Participate and encourage participation in diversity-related and cultural events and the USF Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion subcommittee.
4. Partner with the Morsani College of Medicine Diversity Council on joint events during Multicultural week and beyond.

Wellness Chairs

Nicholas Mencer, DO, Cardiology

Maria Kocab, MD, Internal Medicine

 The wellness chairs will be responsible for working alongside the wellness subcommittee to improve overall resident wellness. They will assist in planning wellness events and help make wellness resources readily available for all residents.

Objectives of the Wellness Chair

1. Attend Wellness subcommittee meetings and provide a brief written summary of information learned from these meetings to RAC.
2. Work to create a database of wellness resources in USF and in the community for residents.
3. Assist in planning the annual “Wellness Week.”

Engagement Track

2-6 positions available

The engagement track will include 2-6 trainees who will serve to help the various committee members (assigned mentor) accomplish goals and complete projects. On occasion they will be given the opportunity to attend RAC meetings and observe how the RAC runs. They may act as substitutes for any RAC or subcommittee meetings their mentor cannot attend. Participation in this program does not guarantee election to RAC in future years.