The Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education’s (ACGME) Data Accreditation System indicates 124 of 152 orthopaedic
surgery residency program directors have 5 or fewer years of tenure. The qualifications and responsibilities of the position
based on the requirements of orthopaedic surgery residency programs, the institutions that support them, and the ACGME Outcome
Project have evolved the role of the program coordinator from clerical to managerial. To fill the void of information on the
coordinators’ expanding roles and responsibilities, the 2006 Association of Residency Coordinators in Orthopaedic Surgery
(ARCOS) Career survey was designed and distributed to 152 program coordinators in the United States. We had a 39.5% response
rate for the survey, which indicated a high level of day-to-day managerial oversight of all aspects of the residency program;
additional responsibilities for other department or division functions for fellows, rotating medical students, continuing
medical education of the faculty; and miscellaneous business functions. Although there has been expansion of the role of the
program coordinator, challenges exist in job congruence and position reclassification. We believe use of professional groups
such as ARCOS and certification of program coordinators should be supported and encouraged.
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patent/licensing arrangements, etc) that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article.