As the accrediting body for US graduate medical education (GME) programs and institutions, the ACGME understands and prioritizes the need for robust support to ensure that everyone in GME can thrive in their professional development. This post is part of the Resources to Support GME series, which highlights tools and resources available for various roles.
Program directors are the primary point of contact between the ACGME and a GME program, and they are critical to the operational and educational success of GME programs. For each ACGME-accredited residency or fellowship program, there must be one faculty member appointed as program director with authority and accountability for the overall program, including compliance with all applicable requirements. Program directors work with other members of the GME leadership team, including program coordinators, assistant/associate program directors (if applicable), and the designated institutional official of the program’s Sponsoring Institution, to lead the program and fulfill its education and training functions.
Program directors serve as role models for their residents, fellows, and faculty members in prioritizing high-quality patient care and professionalism. The role requires in-depth knowledge of the ACGME and its Requirements, including policies and procedures. To assist program directors across GME, the ACGME provides resources to support their work and professional development. This post highlights just some of those resources and opportunities. Courses, materials, and references are continually developed and updated, so refer regularly to the ACGME website; the ACGME’s digital learning platform, Learn at ACGME; the weekly e-Communication; and the ACGME’s social media accounts (Instagram, LinkedIn, X) for the latest information.
Conferences, Workshops, and Webinars
The ACGME Annual Educational Conference is the organization’s premier educational event, featuring dozens of sessions geared toward program directors. The Full-Day Course “Be the Best Program Director You Can Be,” is designed specifically for program directors interested in learning more about the ACGME accreditation process and ways to optimally serve in the program director role. Also featured are specialty updates from each ACGME Review Committee, and sessions on preparing for a site visit; the ACGME Accreditation Data System (ADS); Annual Program Evaluations; diversity, equity, and inclusion; the ACGME Milestones; physician well-being; competency-based medical education; learner remediation; resident/fellow recruitment; faculty development; professionalism; and more! The Annual Educational Conference also provides an opportunity to network with colleagues from within specialties and across GME, as well as with ACGME staff members.
The ACGME periodically offers workshops for program directors and other faculty members, including Developing Faculty Competencies in Assessment, Faculty Development Hub courses, and Remediation of Professionalism workshops, among others. A Medically Underserved Areas and Populations Interest Group virtual session takes place on the third Tuesday of every month, and the Clinician Educator Journal Club meets via Zoom on the third Thursday of every month. Visit the Courses and Workshops section of the ACGME website for information about upcoming offerings, and keep an eye on the ACGME e-Communication and social media accounts (linked above) for announcements about ongoing and future workshops and other opportunities.
Learn at ACGME
Learn at ACGME offers a range of content, some of which is designed specifically for program directors and some that’s applicable across roles within GME; browse by role or topic, or search for particular content. New program directors can follow the Learning Path for New Program Directors, a collection of resources focusing on the fundamental aspects of program directorship. Other program director-specific resources include sessions on program director well-being, a simulated program review, and a mock site visit.
The Improving Assessment Using Direct Observation Toolkit offers faculty development curricula that can be adapted to local needs and provides individual faculty members with techniques that will help them become better educators. The ACGME Equity Matters® Resource Collection provides a synthesis of resources centered around two key objectives: increasing physician workforce diversity and building safe and inclusive learning environments. The ACGME Equity Matters Toolkits include the Equity Practice Toolkit, the Holistic Recruitment Toolkit, and the Language Equity in Health Care Toolkit.
Note that a free account is required to access most of the content in Learn at ACGME.
Additional Resources
The Guide to the Common Program Requirements, for which there is a Residency and a Fellowship version provides an easily accessible reference with information and tools, and is intended to help reduce the burden of fulfilling accreditation requirements. It includes sample templates, screen shots, and step-by-step instructions for completing documentation in ADS, examples of how to meet requirements and complete required tasks, and references to additional relevant resources.
The ACGME Blog, Newsroom, and e-Communication frequently contain content specifically for program directors, including specialty-specific announcements. Browse the Program Directors topic to find content that is tagged for this role.
The Journal of Graduate Medical Education (JGME), which is editorially independent from but operationally managed by the ACGME, welcomes manuscripts from program directors and other members of the GME community. In addition to the journal itself, JGME hosts the Hot Topics in MedEd Podcast, which covers issues and discussions related to articles in the journal. Some episodes that might appeal to program directors include, “Show us the Evidence: Are the Tools We’re Using for Residency Selection Really the Best We’ve Got?,” “Ted Talks: Learning the Lasso Way,” and “Everyone Looks the Same in ERAS! Differentiating Between an Increasingly Homogenous Pool of Graduate Medical Education Applicants.”
Get Involved!
Because ACGME accreditation is achieved by peer review, program directors are integral to the function of the organization. The Review and Recognition Committees are composed of physician/expert volunteers (many of whom are current and former program directors), resident/fellow members, and public members. The ACGME periodically offers other opportunities for program director involvement and feedback, such as review and comment on proposed Requirements, interviews and surveys on development of revised Program Requirements for major revisions, and Milestones development. Watch for announcements about these and other opportunities in the e-Communication and through the ACGME’s various communication channels.