ACGME e-Communication - November 23, 2020

NEW! Supplemental Guidance Regarding Sponsoring Institution Emergency Categorization
Based on continued monitoring of the effects of the pandemic on graduate medical education, health care providers, and the public, the ACGME is issuing supplemental guidance regarding how a Sponsoring Institution’s days in Emergency Category status will be counted; protection of resident, fellow, and faculty member health and safety; and competency-based assessment of residents and fellows.

Read the Supplemental Guidance

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, Letters to the Specialty Communities, institutional and well-being resources, and more.

Conference Registration is Open!

REGISTER NOW!

At an extraordinary time in the history of health care and graduate medical education (GME), the ACGME Annual Educational Conference will be held virtually for the first time on February 24-26, 2021. Strengthening the bonds of the GME community is more important than ever – join the ACGME in exploring the opportunities that lie ahead.

The conference theme, Meaning in Medicine: Mastering the Moment, highlights how the GME community is rising to meet the challenge of a truly unprecedented time for the health of the world. At the ACGME's biggest learning and networking event, attendees will spend three days engaging with more than 250 speakers presenting more than 100 thought-provoking sessions, including half day pre-conferences.

The Annual Educational will also offer an Exhibit Hall, Poster Hall, and family-friendly activities and shows, morning well-being classes, ACGME consultations from staff experts, networking events during the conference, and participation gamification opportunities, in which attendees have the chance to win dozens of prizes!

View the full conference schedule and learn more about #ACGME2021!

Exhibitor, Sponsor, and Job Recruiter Registration Open
Apply today for virtual booth space in the Exhibit Hall, or for one of several exciting sponsorship opportunities at the ACGME Annual Educational Conference February 24-26, 2021. The ACGME is also offering a space for institutions to post open positions in the Career Center. Recruiters can post up to 10 job postings, which will be uploaded into a searchable database that attendees can access up to three months after the conference.

Learn More about Exhibits and Sponsorships

Reserve a Booth or Sponsorship
Apply by January 22, 2021

Email questions to exhibitor@acgme.org.

NEW! Program Requirements and Recognition Requirements for Review and Comment
The following Program Requirements and Recognition Requirements and accompanying Impact Statements posted for review and comment, here:

Comment Deadline: December 30, 2020
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Comment Deadline: January 4, 2021
Clinical Informatics
Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery
Gastroenterology
Geriatric Medicine
Hospice and Palliative Medicine
Internal Medicine-Pediatrics
Maternal-Fetal Medicine
Nephrology
Neurodevelopmental Disabilities
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Transplant Hepatology
Sleep Medicine

NEW! Comment Deadline: January 6, 2021
Clinical Biochemical Genetics
Emergency Medical Services
Laboratory Genetics and Genomics
Medical Biochemical Genetics
Medical Genetics and Genomics
Medical Toxicology
Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine

NEW! Sponsoring Institution-based Fellowship Proposals
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 sponsoring institution-based fellowship 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: January 4, 2021
Healthcare Administration, Leadership, and Management

NEW! 2020-2021 Recruitment Cycle: Issues for Programs Considering Diversity and the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected nearly every aspect of medical education in 2020. Already, the 2020-2021 residency recruitment cycle has been impacted in several ways, including restrictions on candidates’ ability to travel, the cessation of external fourth-year rotations, and the introduction of video interviewing. The penultimate year for most domestic applicants has been disrupted, and many have had difficulties completing coursework and testing, suffered financial hardships, and/or have had difficulties in the application process for numerous reasons.

Underrepresented in medicine (URiM) candidates may be at a particular disadvantage this year due to the disruption of longstanding programs and processes that play important roles in advancing diversity in US residency and fellowship programs. The ACGME has created a statement regarding these issues.

Read the Statement

NEW! New Resources for Assessment Webcast Recording Available
ACGME Chief Research, Milestone Development, and Evaluation Officer Eric Holmboe, MD, MACP, FRCP will discuss the ACGME's latest resources to help with resident/fellow assessment, Teamwork Effectiveness Assessment Module (TEAM) and Direct Observation of Clinical Care (DOCC), and how they are meant to be used to assist programs with assessment.

View in Learn at ACGME

NEW! Medical School Portal Open
The ACGME is pleased to announce the launch of the new ACGME Medical School Portal, which is designed primarily to provide feedback about the experience and performance of a medical school’s graduates to support the school’s continuous quality improvement efforts. The intended audience for the Portal is medical school administrators and faculty and staff members involved in assessing student learning.

The Portal includes outcomes of individual graduates and cohorts of graduates. By providing this information to the schools, the ACGME is acting on its obligation to responsibly share information in order to facilitate evidence-informed, learner-centric discussions about improving each phase of the continuum of medical education. These data can serve as a resource for program improvement in undergraduate medical education, which would, in turn, benefit graduate medical education programs, and ultimately, the patients served by the physicians who learn and train across the medical education continuum.

Direct questions about the new Portal to medschoolportal@acgme.org.

NEW! Remote Site Visits Continue Through June 2021
The  ACGME is currently conducting accreditation and recognition site visits using secure remote technology, and will continue to do so through at least June 2021. These site visits will continue to be scheduled using standard processes, including solicitation of blackout dates. Field Activities staff members will notify the graduate medical education community when in-person accreditation and recognition site visits resume.

Visit the Remote Accreditation and Recognition Site Visit web page for more information and FAQs. General Site Visit FAQs can be found here.

NEW! Draft Milestones Available for Comment
New drafts of the Milestones listed below are available for review and comment. The Milestones reporting data, along with other survey results and comments, informed the changes. The Work Groups also created Supplemental Guides to enhance understanding of the Milestones.

Deadline: Friday, December 4, 2020
Emergency Medicine  
Pediatrics

NEW! Volunteers Needed for Work Groups
Volunteer for a Work Group reviewing the current Milestones and determine what, if any, changes need to be made, by specialty. Members of the GME community are invited to serve on these work groups.