Access the ACGME's COVID-19 Section
Visit the COVID-19 section of the ACGME website for access to a range of materials, including ACGME Guidance Statements, Frequently Asked Questions, institutional and well-being resources, and more.
ACGME Program Requirements for Review and Comment
The following Program Requirements and Recognition Requirements and accompanying Impact Statements are posted for review and comment, here:
Comment Deadline: June 30, 2021
Vascular Surgery (Integrated)
Vascular Surgery (Independent)
Subspecialty Proposals for Review and Comment
As part of the ongoing effort to encourage the participation of the graduate medical education community and the public in the process of reviewing potential new areas for accreditation, the ACGME offers a 45-day comment period to the community of interest regarding proposed new specialties and subspecialties.
The following proposed subspecialties, and accompanying proposals, are available for review here.
Comment Deadline: July 9, 2021
Vascular Medicine
ONE WORKSHOP LEFT! The Basics of Accreditation Workshops
Fewer than 30 spots remain for those whose specialties are covered in the June 15 workshop! Participation is available on a first come, first served basis. This popular two-part, specialty-specific workshop series helps new program coordinators understand ACGME accreditation practices and processes.
For details, visit the Basics of Accreditation page on the ACGME website.
Register Now for Developing Faculty Competencies in Assessment
Registration for ACGME faculty development courses is open! Led by ACGME senior staff members and selected expert instructors from around the country, Developing Faculty Competencies in Assessment helps participants build effective assessment programs for their residency or fellowship program. Offered virtually, sessions are highly interactive and use multiple learning approaches, including virtual simulations, to provide participants with approaches and tools for effective assessment.
Two virtual, six-day courses are available, beginning October 10 and October 31, 2021. For details and to register, visit the Developing Faculty Competencies in Assessment page on the ACGME website.
Self-Study and 10-Year Accreditation Site Visit Update
In support of its mission, the ACGME remains committed to achieving a balance between assurance (regulatory) and improvement (continuous improvement) of educational programs and graduates’ outcomes.
Previously, the review of the program Self-Study was incorporated into the 10-Year Accreditation Site Visit process. Due to postponements of Self-Study dates, as well as deferrals of 10-Year Accreditation Site Visits resulting from the ACGME’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this is no longer the case. The program Self-Study will not be reviewed during an accreditation site visit and the Self-Study will not correlate with the date of the next accreditation site visit.
For programs that have already completed and submitted their Self-Study, the ACGME is developing a process for reviewing and providing feedback.
Programs with postponed Self-Studies will not be required to complete a Self-Study until further notice (at least through July 2022). This deferral period will allow the ACGME to develop a sustainable model for improvement and assurance for its nearly 13,000 accredited programs and allow programs to recover from the impact of COVID-19.
No other programs will be scheduled for a Self-Study until further notice. Institutional Self-Studies will proceed according to the Institutional Review Committee’s announced plan.
Email questions to self-study@acgme.org.
NEW! JGME Articles for the Week
Crowdsourcing in a Pandemic: Pearls and Pitfalls From the Trainee Experience
Megan A. Koster, MD, PharmD
The use of social media to crowdsource approaches to clinical problems, such as those faced by frontline trainees in the pandemic, is uncharted territory, and has the potential to become a powerful dissemination and collaboration tool in modern medicine. This article, based on the recent experiences of a group of pulmonary and critical care medicine fellows involved in nation-wide messaging group, examines the strengths and potential dangers of introducing a crowdsourcing platform into a training program and provides recommendations for how future crowdsourcing applications might be safely implemented.
Experiences of Transgender and Nonbinary Physicians During Medical Residency Program Application
Elizabeth J. Kvach, MD, MA; Jamie Weinand, MD; Ryan O'Connell, MS
Increasing numbers of transgender and nonbinary (TNB) people seek careers in medicine, but little is known about their experiences and the effect of their gender identity during residency application. This brief report, 1of only 2 such studies to date, examines the experiences and perceptions of TNB residency applicants during the Match process through a 2019 survey. Respondents shared their perceptions of how safe they felt disclosing their gender identity and how they perceived such disclosures during interviews might influence their ranking. The study also highlights recommendations provided by TNB residency applicants for adopting gender-affirming practices and instituting policies that value gender diversity.
SPECIALTIES ADDED! Revised Milestones Available
Updated versions of the Milestones for the following specialties and subspecialties are now available. Programs will officially start using the new milestones in July 2021, with the first reporting in January 2022. Supplemental Guides have also be created as a companion tool and are available in both a Word and PDF format on the specialty Milestones pages. The Supplemental Guide includes a mapping of Milestones 1.0 to 2.0 to help with the transition.
Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology
Molecular Genetic Pathology
Musculoskeletal Radiology
Neuroradiology
Orthopaedic Surgery
Pediatric Urology
Vascular Neurology
Vascular Surgery
Email questions to milestones@acgme.org.
Milestones Year-End Reporting Open through June 25
The reporting window closes Friday, June 25, 2021. Milestones assessments can be submitted in ADS at any point before that date. A list of specialties that have or soon will transition to Milestones 2.0 can be found on the Milestones section of the ACGME website.
Email technical questions to ADS@acgme.org.
Email content questions to milestones@acgme.org.
REMINDER! Update Contacts in ADS
Review information in ADS to ensure the appropriate individuals in your institution and/or program receive these e-Communication messages. This includes removing contact information for those no longer working in the institution/program (e.g., those who have retired).
Verify that email addresses for the designated institutional official, institutional coordinator, program director, and program coordinator(s) are current in ADS. As programs and institutions prepare for the transition of the academic year and to complete the Annual Update, this is especially important to ensure key contacts are current in the ACGME system.
Add ADS@acgme.org and ACGMECommunications@acgme.org to your address book or safe sender list so important notifications, including Annual Update or Resident/Fellow and Faculty Survey announcements, as well as these e-Communications are not marked as spam or junk by internet service providers (ISPs). Messages may need to be opened and marked as "not spam."
SPECIALTY ADDED! Calls for Resident Members
The following Review Committees are seeking their next resident member for terms beginning July 1, 2022. A resident member serves on the Review Committee to share the resident/fellow perspective, foster accountability to the needs of residents and fellows, enrich the work of the committee through outside expertise, and create transparency in the work of the Review Committee. Selected nominees will be presented to the ACGME Board of Directors for approval. The membership term is July 1, 2022-June 30, 2024.
ALLERGY AND IMMUNOLOGY
Details: Additional information is available on the Documents and Resources page of the Allergy and Immunology section of the ACGME website.
Contact: Larisa Cassie
Deadline: July 2, 2021
ANESTHESIOLOGY
Details: The resident member must have a minimum of one year of residency education remaining after July 1, 2023. Additional information and nomination form available upon request.
Contact: Aimee Morales
Deadline: July 1, 2021
FAMILY MEDICINE
Details: The resident member must be currently enrolled at the PGY-2 level in a three-year ACGME-accredited family medicine program as of July 1, 2022. Details and nomination instructions are available in the Family Medicine section of the ACGME website.
Contact: Sandra Benitez
Deadline: August 20, 2021
MEDICAL GENETICS AND GENOMICS
Details: The resident member must be enrolled in an ACGME-accredited medical genetics and genomics program or an approved combined program and must have at least one year of the educational program left at the time of appointment. Details and nomination instructions available upon request.
Contact: Natochia Lewis
Deadline: July 31, 2021
NUCLEAR MEDICINE
Details: The resident member must have a minimum of one year of nuclear medicine residency education remaining after July 1, 2022. Details and nomination instructions are available in the Nuclear Medicine section of the ACGME website.
Contact: Bianca Andino
Deadline: August 2, 2021
OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY
Details: Read the full solicitation on the Documents and Resources page in the Obstetrics and Gynecology section of the ACGME website.
Contact: Tina Espina
Deadline: August 9, 2021
RADIATION ONCOLOGY
Details: The resident member must have a minimum of one year of residency education remaining after July 1, 2023. Additional information and nomination form available upon request.
Contact: Aimee Morales
Deadline: July 1, 2021
TRANSITIONAL YEAR
Details: The resident member must have a minimum of one year of residency education remaining after July 1, 2023. Additional information and nomination form available upon request.
Contact: Aimee Morales
Deadline: July 1, 2021
SPECIALTIES ADDED! Calls for Public Members
The following Review Committees are seeking their next public member for terms beginning July 1, 2022. A public member serves on the Review Committee to share the perspective of the public, foster accountability to the needs of the public, enrich the work of the Committee through outside expertise, and create transparency in the work of the Review Committee. Nominees must not be physicians. Other health care professionals are permitted, provided they are not employed by an organization with ACGME-accredited residency or fellowship programs. The term of appointment is six years.
ANESTHESIOLOGY
Details: Additional information and nomination form available upon request.
Contact: Aimee Morales
Deadline: July 1, 2021
EMERGENCY MEDICINE
Details: Additional information and nomination form available upon request.
Contact: Bianca Andino
Deadline: August 2, 2021
FAMILY MEDICINE
Details: Details and nomination instructions are available in the Family Medicine section of the ACGME website.
Contact: Sandra Benitez
Deadline: September 1, 2021
NEW! NEUROLOGY
Details: Additional information is available on the Documents and Resources page of the Neurology section of the ACGME website.
Contact: Larisa Cassie
Deadline: July 2, 2021
PATHOLOGY
Details: Additional information and nomination form available upon request.
Contact: Natochia Lewis
Deadline: July 31, 2021
PREVENTIVE MEDICINE
Details: Additional information and nomination form available upon request.
Contact: Natochia Lewis
Deadline: July 31, 2021
NEW! PSYCHIATRY
Details: Additional information is available on the Documents and Resources page of the Psychiatry section of the ACGME website.
Contact: Larisa Cassie
Deadline: July 2, 2021
TRANSITIONAL YEAR
Details: Additional information and nomination form available upon request.
Contact: Aimee Morales
Deadline: July 1, 2021
Transitional Year Review Committee Seeks New Member
The Committee seeks a new member for a position that will become available July 1, 2022. The candidate should be currently certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine or the American Osteopathic Board of Emergency Medicine. The new member's term will begin July 1, 2022 and end June 30, 2028.
Additional information and the nomination form are available upon request from Senior Accreditation Administrator Aimee Morales.
Nominations due by July 1, 2021.
Meeting and Agenda Closing Dates Posted
Meeting dates are listed on the overview page for each specialty's section on the ACGME website. Most specialties have already updated their information. Meeting dates and associated agenda closing dates for the Osteopathic Principles Committee are posted on the Osteopathic Recognition page of the ACGME website.
This process will continue through July 1, 2021.
NEW! Review and Recognition Committee News / Family Medicine: Emergency Medical Services Certification Reminder
The Review Committee for Emergency Medicine reminds all emergency medical services programs that the grace period for faculty emergency medical services board certification has ended. It has now been more than five years since the inaugural board certification examination for emergency medical services was administered in 2013. Previously the Review Committee allowed several criteria to satisfy the faculty qualifications requirements for the program director and other required faculty members, such as post-residency experience in the subspecialty area, fellowship education, or at least three years of practice experience in emergency medical services. The Review Committee now expects all required faculty members to hold emergency medical services board certification (See the Emergency Medical Services Frequently Asked Questions document on the Program Requirements and FAQs and Applications page of the Emergency Medicine section of the ACGME website).
Note: the Review Committee will perform an assessment of all emergency medical services programs this summer to determine individual program compliance with the faculty certification requirements.
Review and Recognition Committee News / Family Medicine: Comments on Sports Medicine Program Requirements Sought
As part of the 10-year major revision process to the ACGME Program Requirements for Graduate Medical Education in Sports Medicine, the ACGME is soliciting feedback from the GME community on the current set of requirements, available in the Family Medicine section of the ACGME website. The community has 30 days to provide feedback on the specialty-specific requirement language; comments on Common Program Requirements will not be considered in the process.
Send comments in a Word document to sportsmedicineprs@acgme.org by Friday, June 18, 2021.
NEW! Review and Recognition Committee News / Obstetrics and Gynecology: Case Log Update
Residents should now record robotic cases in the Case Log System by checking a Robotic checkbox on the individual CPT code rather than the case entry page. This change will improve the accuracy of the resident robotic experience documented in the Case Log System.
As a reminder, program directors and coordinators can view this in the Case Log System: Accreditation Data System (ADS) > Case Logs > Cases > Entry (View Only).
Email questions to Executive Director Kathleen Quinn-Leering.
Review and Recognition Committee News / Obstetrics and Gynecology: Survey Notice
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has informed the ACGME they are contacting all accredited obstetrics and gynecology programs to request participation in a survey asking about the program’s use of animals for training purposes. Program directors or coordinators may have received or will receive a survey inquiring about the program’s practices.
Email questions or comments to Vice President, Public Policy Kristin Schleiter.
Osteopathic Recognition: Temporary Waiver for Board Certification Qualifications
Since eligible physicians have experienced delays in becoming board certified due to COVID-19-related issues, the Osteopathic Principles Committee will permit programs to apply for a temporary waiver to the following Osteopathic Recognition Requirements (effective July 1, 2018) related to board certification: I.A.1.a).(2); I.B.2.; and I.C.2.a). This decision was made to ensure that otherwise qualified new Directors of Osteopathic Education, core osteopathic faculty members, and osteopathic faculty members can fulfill the responsibilities for which they were hired.
Read details regarding temporary waiver requests in the memo under Announcements on the Osteopathic Recognition page of the ACGME website.
NEW! Transitional Year
The Review Committee has updated its requirements for ACGME specialties requiring a preliminary year. The revised document reflects the most current Program Requirements for each applicable specialty.
The document can be found on the Documents and Resources page in the Transitional Year section of the ACGME website.
Direct questions to Review Committee staff members, whose contact information can be found on the Transitional Year section linked above.
Career Opportunities
The ACGME currently has the following open positions:
- ACGME International President and Chief Executive Officer
- Accreditation Field Representative
- Director, Institutional Outreach and Collaboration
- Distance Learning Specialist
- Medical Writer
- Senior Attorney and Manager of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)
Click on the position linked above for details and to complete an application.