Memphis, TN 09/02/03 - Challenger Corporation, announced today that it has reached an agreement to work with the Department of Emergency Medicine at Vanderbilt University for the mutual development, review and implementation of a variety of physician training and evaluation programs. The collaboration involves joint content development by staff, onsite testing of physician training content, and a program for the review and distribution of courses aimed at specific competencies in emergency medicine. Lawrence Stack, MD, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, a respected emergency educator and an expert in medical photography, will serve as Challenger's Clinical Medical Editor.
Corey M. Slovis, MD, Chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Vanderbilt and one of the foremost experts in emergency education in the United States, will also be actively involved in this effort.
The parties have a mutual interest in the development and testing of more effective content for evaluating the progress of physicians in training, primarily residents, and in the creation and distribution of courses in underemphasized aspects of medical care. For example, a course will be created, tested and published in a specialized aspect of emergency care called acid/base evaluation, where Dr. Slovis is an expert. Dr. Stack and Challenger will also create and distribute a course in acute care radiographic imaging. Challenger will employ its proven expertise in medical editing and distribution to commercialize both Internet-based and offline CD-ROM versions of the courses.
One of the unique aspects of the relationship will be the opportunity to test and evaluate the practical impact of the developed material in a real state-of-the-art training setting. Under the leadership of Keith Wrenn, MD, Residency Director at Vanderbilt, the courses will be taught and evaluated in the Vanderbilt emergency medicine residency program. Dr. Wrenn and other faculty will also deploy, evaluate and upgrade the Challenger Program for Residenciesä online software for evaluating compliance, performance and remediation. The courses will then be published commercially for purchase by primary care and hospital-based physicians nationwide. Another potential market may be the 124 formal emergency residency programs in the United States. Residencies are under increasing pressure form the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) to demonstrate specific competencies in their training programs and to validate the competencies of their graduates.
Challenger owns the world's largest collection of approved electronic CME media, comprising over 1900 approved hours of credit. Thousands of physicians and other clinicians rely upon Challenger material to prepare for specialty board exams, recertification, and continuous competency testing; to fulfill ongoing CME requirements; and to provide reference and patient-care decision support. Challenger serves the educational and training needs of over 385,000 practicing American primary care and hospital based physicians. The company has an installed base of over 15,000 clinical users, including 4000 "regular buyers." Also, ten residency programs in emergency and family medicine use the Challenger Program for Residenciesä for measurement of resident performance. Challenger products are approved for physician CME credit through joint sponsorships with prominent medical schools and specialty societies.
According to Challenger CEO Bob Sweeney, "Vanderbilt is among the foremost educational institutions in the Southeast, and we are honored to have the opportunity to collaborate with their faculty in this endeavor. Dr. Stack has been an advisor to our editing staff for the last ten years; we are fortunate to be able to engage him more closely in the quality review and product development components of our product development. The active involvement of Dr. Slovis and Dr. Wrenn in topic identification, course testing, and process improvement gives us ever greater confidence of being able to maintain our first-advantage position as the leading electronic content company in the United States.
The Department of Emergency Medicine at Vanderbilt University is both an academic institution and the treating faculty for Vanderbilt University Medical Center, which is consistently ranked as one of the top medical schools and hospitals in the United States. The Department offers specialized training in toxicology, pediatric emergency medicine, pre-hospital and critical care. It is also a leading center for academic research in acute coronary syndrome, community-acquired pneumonia, acute orthopedics and other aspects of emergency medicine.
Media Contact:
Bob Sweeney
CEO and President
Challenger Corporation
5100 Poplar Ave, Suite 310
Memphis, TN 38137
Tel: (901) 762-8425
E-mail: bobs@chall.com
