CASTCAST

Kathy Guzman2011 Program Coordinators Meeting

CASTCAST Committee on Committee on Accreditation of Accreditation of

Subspecialty TrainingSubspecialty Training

http://www.societyns.org/fellowships/index.asp

The Committee on Accreditation of subspecialty Training shall be responsible for accreditation of subspecialty training fellowships in neurosurgery and for development and updating of subspecialty training requirements. Additionally, this Committee shall have responsibility for promulgating study and analysis of outcomes relative to neurosurgical subspecialty training and when necessary developing and monitoring programs for a neurosurgery fellowship match.

SNS/CAST MembersSNS/CAST Members

◦Volker K. H. Sonntag, MD, Chair ◦Steven L. Giannotta, MD, Secretary/Treasurer ◦Robert H. Rosenwasser, MD ◦Dennis D. Spencer, MD ◦Frederick A. Boop, MD ◦Charles Branch, MD◦Antonio Chiocca, MD

CorrespondenceCorrespondence

Steven L. Giannotta, MD, Secretary/Treasurer

Kathy Guzman1200 N State Street, Suite 3300Los Angeles, CA 90033Phone: 323-226-7421Fax: 323-226-7833Email: kguzman@usc.edu

Accreditation ProcessAccreditation Process• SNS accreditation is limited to those

fellowships which exist within ACGME accredited neurosurgery training programs (or the Canadian equivalent) and have current Neurological Surgery RRC authorization for existence of the specific fellowship.

• An application fee will be paid by the sponsoring residency training program to a separate CAST account.

• Fees will be set by CAST and will be consistent and in an amount to cover application, review and administration costs. Application fees will be subject to review and approval by the SNS Council. CURRENT FEE IS $350

Accreditation ProcessAccreditation Process• Applications for fellowship accreditation will be submitted to the Secretary/Treasurer of CAST • The Secretary will have the discretion to complete the review within CAST or utilize additional subspecialty reviewers. • At a minimum, two CAST members must review the application and prepare a critique with accreditation recommendations for discussion and action at the next CAST meeting. • An alternate review process may be carried out by one member of CAST and two or three appointed subspecialty reviewers.

Accreditation ProcessAccreditation Process

• Judgments regarding accreditation shall be made based on compliance with the established fellowship training requirements. • All deliberations will be in accordance with established policies regarding conflict of interest. • A minimum of four members of CAST must be present for accreditation decisions. • Accreditation decisions will be made by a majority vote of CAST members.

Accreditation ProcessAccreditation Process

• The CAST may at its discretion require a site visit by a CAST member to obtain information not adequately represented in the application. The expense of this visit will be predetermined to cover transportation, meal and lodging expenses as well as an honorarium for the reviewer and will be the responsibility of the sponsoring program’s department/division. These arrangements will be made prior to the site visit.

Accreditation Process:Accreditation Process:Re-accrediationRe-accrediation• After initial accreditation, re-review of a fellowship will coincide with the ACGME reviews of the sponsoring department/division residency training program and must be completed within six months of RRC final accreditation decisions.• For fellowship training programs in which there has been ACGME (or equivalent) re-accreditation without adverse actions and all aspects of the fellowship program are stable, fellowship re-accreditation may be decided by CAST exclusive of additional, which in such cases shall be at the discretion of CAST.

Accreditation Process:Accreditation Process:Fellowship ChangesFellowship Changes• When a CAST accredited subspecialty fellowship makes

a significant change in program structure or undergoes major changes in fellowship faculty, especially fellowship program director, the residency program director shall inform the SNS or CAST Secretary within six months of the change.• Likewise, the SNS or CAST Secretary must be informed

within six months of major ACGME accreditation rulings regarding the sponsoring residency training program. Substantial changes, such as change in program director, in the sponsoring residency training program or fellowship may, at the discretion of CAST, be cause for review of fellowship and its accreditation.

Program Requirements for Program Requirements for Fellowship TrainingFellowship Training• On the webpage there are specific program

requirements for the following subspecialties:• Advanced Training in NeuroCritical Care: Neurologi

cal Surgery• Cerebrovascular Neurosurgery• Endovascular Neurosurgery• Neurologic Surgery of the Spine• Neurosurgical Oncology • Oncology• Pediatric Neurologic Surgery• Peripheral Nerve• Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery

SNS/CAST Accredited SNS/CAST Accredited FellowshipsFellowships

• There is an approved program list on the SNS Webpage

http://www.societyns.org/fellowships/sns-cast_accredit_fellowships.html

ApplicationsApplications

• Beginning in June 2011 paper applications will no longer be accepted.

• All applications must be submitted ONLINE through the SNS website. The application is in the password protected area of the site. Everyone who registered for this meeting has a password, as do all SNS members.• HOWEVER….applications must be started by an SNS

Member. They will then be able to designate DELEGATES to continue working on the application.

Application ProcessApplication Process

• Login on SNS websitehttp://www.societyns.org• Click on SNS Cast Applications on the left side of the

page

Make sure you hit SAVE and CONTINUE

at the end of each page!!!

Make sure you hit SAVE and CONTINUE at the end of each page!!!

SUBMIT APPLICATION after you are done

ApprovalsApprovals

• CAST only meets officially at the SNS Meeting.• There is usually an additional meeting at the CNS or another national meeting if enough members will be present.• THEREFORE….approvals can take some time.

•We are hopeful that the ONLINE applications will improve approval times because applications can be sent and reviewed by Committee members electronically and conference calls can be set up for approvals rather than waiting for meetings.

Questions?Questions?