Program Structure

Core Learning Experiences
Orientation
Internal Medicine/Progressive Care Unit
Emergency Medicine
Intensive Care
Neonatal Intensive Care/Pediatrics
Oncology Infusion Center
Ambulatory Care at St. Charles
Administration/Pharmacy Leadership

Elective Learning Experiences
Antimicrobial Stewardship
Operating Room/PACU
Teaching
Ambulatory care
Medication Safety

Longitudinal Experiences
Project Management
Oregon Pharmacy Teaching Certificate
Informatics
Pharmacy Practice Staffing

Other Opportunities
Participation in state and national pharmacy organizations
Present educational in-services to pharmacy and medical staff
Present at local and national meetings
Obtain ACLS/BLS certification
Conduct formulary reviews
Precept pharmacy students
Participate in P&T committee meetings
Facilitation of journal clubs and topic discussions
Attend national pharmacy meetings
Perform patient safety and quality improvement projects

FAQs

Q: Who do I contact if I am sick and can't attend the orientation?
A: Call or email the HR recruiter you worked with to let them know so you can get rescheduled.

Q: Where is clinical orientation held?
A: It is in the Clinical Practice and Professional Development Department within the 2600 building on Neff Road. Your badge should open the door. View the map above for further directions.

Q: Do I clock in using Kronos for orientation?
A: Yes. Clock into education/orientation when orientation begins.

Q: What do I do with the passport after completing clinical orientation?
A: Your passport from orientation goes to your manager to place in your employee file on the primary unit in which you'll be working.

Q: Will I be taking a medication skills assessment?
A: Yes. During the nursing orientation there is a medication administration exam that evaluates your knowledge on dosage calculations and appropriate medication dosing per scenario.

Q: Am I allowed to bring my child with me in an emergency?
A: No. If you are unable to arrange child care, you will need to let HR know so you can be rescheduled for another session.

Q: What should I bring with me to clinical orientation?
A: You may bring lunch, snacks and coffee if you need it. If you're a nurse and CNA, please wear scrubs.

Office of Continuing Medical Education

541-706-4680
[email protected]

The Continuing Medical Education department at St. Charles Health System is a physician-led system service which produces certified CME activities to meet the needs of providers who practice within our community.

The CME Committee is comprised of interprofessional healthcare providers who practice at different hospitals, clinics and specialty groups across Central Oregon. A medical student, NP or PA student serves on the committee to represent the interests of patients and the public at large.

CME Committee

Jeff Bulkley, DO, Mosaic Community Health, Chair
Robert Ross, MD, Director of CME, GME, Reseach and Library SCHS
Nathan Ansbaugh, MD, CO Emergency Physicians- SCHS
David Barnett, DO, Hospitalist SCHS
Irene Czyszczon, MD, Central Oregon Pathology
David Dedrick, MD, Retired
Dausen Harker, MD, Summit Medical Group
Mike Hatch, MD, Bend Anesthesiology Group
Jinnelle Lewis, MD, SCHS Family Care Clinic Madras
Stephen Mann, DO, Retired
Cody Sorenson, PharmD, SCHS
Bryce Campbell, PA-C, Clinical Division Director- Urgent Care
Lexi Dettrich, MD Student
Bill Hartrich, Cascades East AHEC and Student Services
Emily Messmer, FNP, Summit Medical Group
Mariah Weigel, PA-C, Summit Medical Group

Clinical Leadership

Rob Ross, MD, FAAFP
Director of Provider Academics, Research and Clinical Services
Designated Institutional Officer (DIO)
St. Charles Health System
541-706-4949

Administrative Staff

Leslie Borquez
Medical Education Coordinator
541-706-4767

Ellie Cuff, AAOT, PBT ASCP
CME Supervisor
541-706-4719

Javier Leiva, BLS, PGPM
Medical Librarian
Instructor, Conversational Spanish for Healthcare Professionals
541-706-4732
[email protected]

Landon Neet, AS EMT-P, BS, CRC
Medical Education Outcomes Analyst
541-706-2605

Becky Randle, BS, CMA-AAMA
Simulation and Procedural Skills Specialist
541-706-4784

Noura Sall, MS, CCRC
Manager of Research and Education
541-706-6362

David Schumacher, MS
CME Support Specialist
541-706-2900, ext. 7998

Office Location
St. Charles Health System
2600 NE Neff Road
(Through the main family care entrance, then the glass doors to the right)
Bend, Oregon 97701
Main CME Phone: 541-706-4680
Email: [email protected] 

Purpose and goals

St. Charles Health System CME department improves patient care, promotes patient safety and increases physician competency by providing quality education to its four medical staffs, and providers in surrounding Central Oregon region based upon the ABMS® and ACGME® Core Competencies for Physicians. In 2013, SCHS adopted a bold new organizational vision of improving population health: Creating America's healthiest community, together. To support this goal, the CME program meets emerging and evolving challenges by identifying the gaps between actual and best practices in evidence-based medicine. We respond to hospital/medical staff quality indicators with educational programs/information that utilize innovative and appropriate methods and technologies.

Content areas

Because of the diversity of medical practitioners in the region, we provide educational activities in multiple learning formats pertaining to a wide variety of topics. Content areas address acute in-patient needs as well as areas that focus on long-term goals for improved population health.

Target audience

Learners are primary care and specialist allopathic and osteopathic physicians; and a secondary audience is comprised of mid-level providers such as physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical pharmacists and registered nurses, all of whom can apply Category 1 CME Credit toward their individual board’s CE requirements.

Type of the activities provided

We proactively adopt new teaching methods and incorporate technology to improve effectiveness and application by learners in their medical practice. To address the barrier of physician time limitations, activities range from didactic lectures to self-directed study, and include Regularly Scheduled Series, hands on courses, regional conferences, video conferences, journal clubs, enduring materials with computer-based learning, and Internet search and learning with web-based point-of-care programs. Core competencies are addressed through problem-based learning, simulation/demonstration, and targeted case reviews.

Expected results

The CME program recognizes the challenges in establishing a direct link between education and clinical practice; therefore, the CME program contributes to the improvement of patient safety and patient outcomes by promoting best practices. We examine the effectiveness of CME activities in meeting educational needs and measure changes in competence, performance or patient outcomes as identified by gaps between actual practice and stated goals.

These improvements in patient safety and patient outcomes are measured and analyzed internally through St. Charles quality improvement mechanisms. Additionally, physician performance is compared against key performance indicators (KPIs) such as quality and patient satisfaction.

Joint providerships

The ACCME defines joint providership as the providership of a CME activity by one or more accredited and one or more non-accredited organizations. Joint providership gives accredited organizations the opportunity to collaborate with non-accredited organizations to enhance the diversity and value of their educational offerings. We believe that partnering with patient advocacy groups, medical societies, and professional healthcare associations, and specific healthcare related nonprofits is an effective way to strengthen educational programs and to make them more widely available to providers in the community.

The ACCME expects all CME activities to be in compliance with the ACCME Criteria, the Standards for Commercial Support, and policies. In cases of joint providership, it is the ACCME-accredited provider’s responsibility to be able to demonstrate this compliance to the ACCME.

Please Note: due to CME department capacity and priorities, we are limited to supporting joint providerships that are local (Central Oregon) or in rural areas in Oregon where other accredited providers do not exist.

We welcome proposals for Joint Providerships, and will provide qualified organizations with information and a link to complete a detailed online CME application for a modest fee. Please note that we cannot accredit programs that are already planned or completed.

The CME Committee meets on the fourth Thursday of every odd month, with the exception of holidays, to review, approve or request additional information on each proposed topic.

The St. Charles CME Committee reserves the right to refuse to certify an educational activity if it does not meet ACCME requirements for accreditation. Application fees are non-refundable.

Please Note: Fees are for accreditation review, certification, documentation and oversight only. We do not manage the on-sight logistics of CME activities.

Please email us at [email protected] to set up a consultation and receive the applications and needed forms. 

CME Accreditation Fees

Medical meeting planner resources:

• Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education
• Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions
• American Board of Medical Specialties
• American Medical Association
• Electronic Education Documentation System (eeds)
• Oregon Medical Association
• CME Coalition

Disclosure

St. Charles Health System is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians. As such, the CME program strictly adheres to the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education’s Standards for Commercial Support.

The CME program has policies in place to ensure independence from commercial interests for all its CME activities. Everyone in a position to control educational content (CME committee, faculty, planners, reviewers, and others who control content) must disclose to our organization any relevant financial relationships with commercial interests.

Mechanisms are in place to identify and resolve conflicts of interest prior to CME activities, which includes disqualifying individuals who refuse to disclose.

CME Committee members, planners and staff have no relevant financial relationships to disclose. Faculty-specific disclosure is posted for learners prior to the beginning of each CME activity. Individually signed disclosures (CME committee, faculty, planners, reviewers and staff) are maintained in the CME program office.

To learn more about the Standards for Commercial Support, go to www.accme.org

For accreditation or other questions about the CME program at St. Charles, feel free to contact CME Program Staff: [email protected]

Undergraduate Medical Education 

St. Charles Health System serves as an official clinical training site for allopathic medical students from OHSU, osteopathic medical students from Western University Health Sciences’ COMP-NW campus in Lebanon, OR, and AHEC Scholars. Medical students and other AHEC Scholars continue their training through the pandemic, unless their schools request modifications to their clinical rotations or the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) issues updated guidance.

Check also information about Rural Training Track and Student Housing.

Preceptors (teachers of medical students) work with over 200 students per year to ensure they are “residency-ready” by focusing on the AAMC’s 13 Core Entrustable Professional Activities as well as the American Board of Medical Specialties/Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education’s Core Competencies.

Core Competencies

• Practice-based Learning and Improvement: Show an ability to investigate and evaluate patient care practices, appraise and assimilate scientific evidence and improve the practice of medicine.
• Patient Care and Procedural Skills: Provide care that is compassionate, appropriate and effective treatment for health problems and to promote health.
• Systems-based Practice: Demonstrate awareness of and responsibility to the larger context and systems of health care. Be able to call on system resources to provide optimal care (e.g. coordinating care across sites or serving as the primary case manager when care involves multiple specialties, professions or sites).
• Medical Knowledge: Demonstrate knowledge about established and evolving biomedical, clinical and cognate sciences and their application in patient care.
• Interpersonal and Communication Skills: Demonstrate skills that result in effective information exchange and teaming with patients, their families and professional associates (e.g. fostering a therapeutic relationship that is ethically sound, uses effective listening skills with non-verbal and verbal communication; working as both a team member and, at times, as a leader).
• Professionalism: Demonstrate a commitment to carrying out professional responsibilities, adherence to ethical principles and sensitivity to diverse patient populations.

Participation and performance expectations

In addition to full and engaged participation in the clinical rotation, the educational experience at St. Charles includes mandatory attendance at weekly Grand Rounds, Interprofessional Education (IPE) lectures and discussions, clinical conferences and committee meetings, as well as volunteering at health-related events within the community.
Medical, physician assistant and nurse practitioner students are often invited by the Cascades East Area Health Education Center (AHEC) to speak with college, high school, and middle school students about their journey to medical school as part of a Health Occupations program or summer camp program.

Teaching as learning

Students may be assigned a topic on which to produce and present either a PowerPoint, research paper, or a case study to the other students and preceptors in their cohort. Students are responsible for compiling and presenting his/her own research in the best educational format suited to their subject matter, using the most current evidence-based sources available.
Students may also be assigned to write a needs assessment for a Continuing Medical Education activity, which will be due for submission to the St. Charles Clerkship Specialist by the end of their rotation.

Support for research and academic assignments is available through the St. Charles Medical Library, which can be reached at [email protected].

Accreditation

"St. Charles Health System has been reviewed by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME®) and awarded accreditation from 3/2023-3/2027 as a provider of continuing medical education (CME) for physicians and advanced practice providers. Accreditation in the ACCME System seeks to assure the medical community and the public that St. Charles Health System delivers education that is relevant to clinicians’ needs, evidence-based, evaluated for its effectiveness, and independent of commercial influence."

 Activities are approved to offer AMA PRA Category 1 credits^TM. 

American Academy of Family Physicians: In addition to AMA PRA Category I Credit^TM, most CME activities are also awarded credit through application with the American Academy of Family Physicians. The AAFP invites comments on any activity that has been approved for AAFP CME credit. Please forward your comments on the quality of this activity to [email protected].

Pharmacists: Most CME activities are awarded credit by the Oregon Board of Pharmacy.

Medical Imaging Technologists: The Oregon Board of Medical Imaging awards credit for applicable education activities. Approved activities are posted on OBMI's website.

The CME program regularly collaborates within a system framework (departmentally across four campuses) and with other health care stakeholders (e.g., health department, insurance providers, schools, patient advocacy groups). It develops activities/educational interventions to improve population health, reduce cost of care, and improve the patient's experience.

Therapy Dogs

Therapy Dog Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteering at St. Charles and sharing your beloved dog with others is one of the most rewarding volunteer opportunities available. For new therapy dog handlers, Central Oregon Community College offers Pet Partner Team Training through its Community Learning Program.

To become a St. Charles therapy dog volunteer

• Become a St. Charles volunteer
• Have a current therapy dog registration through Pet Partners, Therapy Dogs International or Alliance of Therapy Dogs
• Complete orientation and supervised visits with an authorized and experienced therapy dog team
• Bathe dogs within 24 hours prior to each visit
• Show that dogs are at least 2 years old and have a current rabies certificate

Social Spotlight

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If you don't have a MyChart account, you can sign up here.

• Sign in to MyChart and make a payment online
• Can't find the bill you want to pay? Use MyChart - Pay as a Guest, but you will need the guarantor number. What is a guarantor? The guarantor is the person responsible for paying the bill. You can find the guarantor name and account number on your statement.
• Mail the payment to 29357 Network Place, Chicago, IL 60673-1293
• Call 888-703-8401 or 541-706-2975