Recommendations for Away Rotations and Interviews for Fellowship Applicants in 2020-2021

June 16, 2020

A work group of the Coalition for Physician Accountability recently issued recommendations to guide the transition from residency to fellowship during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Coalition for Physician Accountability, of which the ACGME is a member, is an organization that engages in discussion and collaboration on matters of common relevance to improve the quality of health care. It was established to promote professional accountability by improving the quality, efficiency, and continuity of the education and assessment of physicians. Recently, the coalition created several work groups to develop common recommendations that address urgent issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic and physician education.

Recommendations include:

  • discouraging away rotations except in specific circumstances;
  • conducting online interviews and virtual visits for all applicants; and,
  • working with other fellowship programs and stakeholders across GME to establish consistency and equity for fellowship applicants across the country.

The goal of the recommendations is to promote public and professional safety by mitigating the effects of pandemic-related disruption in the transition to graduate medical education (GME).

Read the full report here: Recommendations for Away Rotations and Interviews for Graduate Medical Education Fellowship Applicants During the 2020-2021 Academic Year

The Coalition work groups’ other statements, reports, and recommendations are available here.