OU-COM Official Appointed to COGME

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has appointed D. Keith Watson, DO, FACOS, Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine (OU-COM), to serve on the Council on Graduate Medical Education (COGME.)

Dr. Watson’s appointment ensures that the interests of osteopathic medical education will continue to be considered by this critical body. Dr. Watson is a member of the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Board of Deans.

A leader in the osteopathic medical education community, Dr. Watson served as Chair of the 2006 Osteopathic Medical Education Summit, the first national effort to gather representatives of the undergraduate and graduate osteopathic medical education community from across the country to discuss and develop solutions for pressing medical education issues. He chairs the Council on Osteopathic Postdoctoral Training Institutions (COPTI), and is a clinical education examiner and team captain for the American Osteopathic Association’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation evaluation teams.

Dr. Watson earned his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree at the University of North Texas Health Science Center - Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, and went on to specialize in surgery.

COGME provides such services as assessing physician workforce trends, training issues and financing policies, and recommending appropriate federal and private sector efforts to address identified needs. The Congressionally authorized group advises and makes recommendations to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, and the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce.

COGME is made up of 17 members, the majority of them medical education professionals. COGME’s federal representation includes the Assistant Secretary for Health, HHS; the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, HHS; and the Chief Medical Director of the Veterans Administration.  Previous members of COGME include Kendall Reed, DO, Dean of Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Douglas L. Wood, DO, PhD, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at A.T. Still University and former President of AACOM. 


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