ACGME seeks nominations for David C. Leach, MD, Award
New award for residents and resident teams named after retired CEO of organization

CHICAGO, March 25, 2009 – The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education is accepting nominations for the David C. Leach, MD, Award. This new annual award, which will recognize residents and resident teams for improving graduate medical education, is named in honor of the ACGME’s former chief executive officer, David C. Leach, MD, who retired in 2007.

The award will be given to residents or resident teams (residents, fellows, faculty, program coordinators, allied health professionals) who have developed a project or activity that improves graduate medical education in one or more of the following areas:

• fostering innovation and improvement in the learning environment;
• increasing the program’s emphasis on educational outcomes;
• increasing efficiency and reducing non-educational burden;
• improving communication and collaboration in education and patient care within the program or institution;
• advancing humanism in patient care and among health care professionals.

Five awards will be given to residents or resident teams. The awards will be presented to the recipients at the ACGME’s Annual Educational Conference in March 2010.

Residents and teams may be nominated by program directors, designated institutional officials, program coordinators, ACGME Review Committees, or chief executive officers of teaching hospitals. Nominations are due July 1, 2009, and must include a completed application form and three recommendation letters.  The application and supporting materials should be sent to Emily Vasiliou at evasiliou@acgme.org.

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The ACGME is a private, non-profit council that accredits approximately 8,500 residency programs in 127 specialties and subspecialties educating 108,000 residents. Its mission is to improve health care by assessing and advancing the quality of resident physicians’ education through accreditation.