Foundational Competencies for Undergraduate Medical Education
The ACGME, Association of American Medical Colleges, and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine would like feedback on their initiative to create a common set of foundational competencies for use in undergraduate medical education programs in the US.
Members of the graduate medical education (GME) community can provide comments using this form, or by participating in the final discussion forum December 6 from 3:00-4:00 p.m. Eastern.
The Annual Educational Conference will bring together graduate medical education (GME) professionals for valuable networking opportunities, allowing each attendee to get the most out of their time at the conference, while making new and lasting connections!
Networking Spotlight: Mentor/Mentee Program
The conference is a great opportunity to connect with other members of the GME community from all over the world. Take it a step further and find a mentor and/or mentee at the conference! Pick up a “Happy to Be Your Mentor” or “Will You Be My Mentor?” badge ribbon at Registration. The ACGME will provide areas for mentors and mentees to convene.
Sign up to be notified once registration opens
Email questions to registration@acgme.org.
COMING SOON! Program Emergency Categorization
The ACGME has developed a process to allow accredited programs to request Program Emergency Categorization when planned resident/fellow experiences are disrupted due to a local COVID-19 surge. The Program Emergency Categorization status will be able to be invoked only if the program has first exhausted all other actual and potential sources of clinical support and disrupting the GME experience to meet patient care needs is a last resort.
This new program-level designation will resemble the existing Sponsoring Institution Emergency Categorization designation process. This will enable the designated institutional official, in collaboration with the Graduate Medical Education Committee and clinical leaders, to provide oversight and support for the program(s) responding to emergency conditions, particularly in considering all other potential sources of clinical support, to ensure timely completion of the GME curriculum for each resident/fellow. When available, Program Emergency Categorization will be able to be applied retroactively up to 30 days.
In all cases, Sponsoring Institutions and programs must ensure that residents and fellows can successfully complete their programs and become eligible for board certification.
More information will be available in the COVID-19 section of the ACGME website and this e-Communication in the coming weeks.
Common Program Requirements Background and Intent Update
The Common Program Requirement Background and Intent sections under Requirements II.A.2. and II.C.2. have been updated to align with the Common Program Requirement FAQ regarding program leadership and program coordinator dedicated time. These updates are reflected in the Residency, Fellowship, One-Year Fellowship, and Post-Doctoral Education versions of the Common Program Requirements effective July 1, 2023, available under Future Effective Date on the Common Program Requirements page.
ACGME Seeks CLER Evaluation Committee Members
The Clinical Learning Environment Review (CLER) Evaluation Committee is currently seeking members from the following communities of health care professionals:
- Designated institutional official with demonstrated experience in addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion in GME
- Chief nursing officer of hospital or health care system (currently or recently active)
- Resident or fellow physician with significant education and training in patient safety and health care quality
Members will be selected based on current needs, professional qualifications, geographic distribution, and diversity in gender and race, and recommended to the ACGME Board of Directors for confirmation. All terms will begin July 1, 2023. The term for the resident/fellow member is two years (non-renewable). The other openings are three-year terms with the option to renew. Meetings are held in person in Chicago. Meeting dates for 2023 are:
- July 24-26, 2023
- October 25-27, 2023
Dates for 2024 and beyond have not yet been selected. Typically, the Committee meets four times each year in January, April, July, and October.
For more information or to request a nomination form, email Ana Sainz. Nominations are due November 30, 2022.
THIS WEEK! Office Hours with the Vice President, Sponsoring Institutions
Institutional accreditation staff members recognize that designated institutional officials (DIOs) and institutional coordinators are currently preparing for changes affecting institutional accreditation and recognition. Paul Foster Johnson, vice president, Sponsoring Institutions, will host office hours via Zoom to answer questions about the following topic:
Recognition of Sponsoring Institutions with Non-Standard Training Programs for Physicians with J-1 Visas
Thursday, November 10 at 3:00 p.m. Central
Meeting ID: 943 2021 4513 (ID is linked)
Passcode: 177905
No advance registration or RSVP is required; drop in when it is convenient using the above link. Email questions to irc@acgme.org.
OPEN FOR COMMENTS! Major Revision of Psychiatry Subspecialty Program Requirements
The Review Committee for Psychiatry is preparing to begin a major revision of the Program Requirements for the subspecialties of addiction psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, consultation-liaison psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, and geriatric psychiatry and is seeking comments related to specific requirements or topics that should be addressed as the revisions are developed. In particular, the Review Committee is interested in feedback related to what the respective subspecialties will look like in the future, and the competencies, resources, and personnel necessary to create the physicians who will practice in the subspecialty.
Email comments to psychiatry-reviews@acgme.org no later than Wednesday, December 7, 2022.
The requirements addressing dedicated time and support for program leadership, program coordinators, and core faculty members were recently revised based on guidance from the ACGME Board of Directors, following a public comment period in fall 2021. Therefore, those requirements will not be modified during the upcoming major revision and are not subject to public comment at this time. The final requirements related to administrative support are posted under the Selected Topics Across Program Requirements heading on the bottom of the Institutional Application and Requirements page of the Institutional Review Committee section of the ACGME website. Additionally, changes to the ACGME Common Program Requirements are not within the purview of the Review Committee and, therefore, comments related to Common Program Requirements, indicated by bold font in the Requirements documents, should not be submitted and will not be considered.
NEW! Journal of Graduate Medical Education (JGME) Articles of the Week
Evaluating the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Model at 10 Years: Practice-Based Outcomes and Opportunities
Caitlin Smith Davis, MD, MSc; Tuhin Roy, MD, MPH; Lars E. Peterson, MD, PhD;
Andrew W. Bazemore, MD, MPH
In 2011, the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THC GME) program began providing community-based primary care residency education anchored in federally qualified health centers. In this study, the authors used data on practice outcomes of early career family physicians who graduated from the program in the years directly following its inception. They found the program benefits included retaining graduates in local communities, educating physicians who are more likely to provide care in underserved settings, and providing a wider variety of medical services to patients regardless of age or specific medical needs.
An Analysis of Underrepresented in Medicine Away Rotation Scholarships in Surgical Specialties
Sophie L. Bernstein, BA; Chapman Wei, MD; Alex Gu, MD; Joshua C. Campbell, MD; Duretti Fufa, MD
Underrepresented in medicine (UIM) visiting student clerkship scholarships provide an opportunity for supporting diversity. Although these scholarships have become a popular initiative to recruit diverse surgical applicants, they have not been thoroughly analyzed regarding which programs offer scholarships and the characteristics of the scholarships. Authors of this study identified the websites of ACGME-accredited residency programs for eight surgical specialties, and evaluated them for the availability of UIM visiting student scholarships in July 2021. They found that the scholarships varied greatly across the surgical specialties and did not correlate with specialty diversity.
SAVE THE DATE! Leadership Skills Training Program for Chief Residents
This workshop is designed to provide a transitional experience into the role of chief resident. Small-group sessions and exercises offer incoming chief residents the tools, skills, and a learning environment designed to increase their understanding of their personal leadership styles, strengths, and weaknesses as leaders, developing knowledge and appreciation of group and interpersonal behavior and learning additional skills critical to success and satisfaction as both a clinician and leader.
All eight programs are open to chief residents from all medical and surgical specialties.
Programs will be offered in Chicago, Illinois:
- March 2-4, 2023
- March 6-8, 2023
- March 29-31, 2023
- May 10-12, 2023
- May 22-24, 2023
- May 31-June 2, 2023
Programs will be offered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
- April 24-26, 2023
- June 12-14, 2023
The brochure and registration will be available soon. Email questions to Ann Riley.
Career Opportunities
The ACGME is always interested in finding talented, dedicated individuals to join the organization and support its mission to improve health care and population health by assessing and enhancing the quality of resident and fellow physicians' education through advancements in accreditation and education.