The ACGME Review Committee for Emergency Medicine has met multiple times during the past year to review program applications, discuss common requirements, and manage the transition to single accreditation as the AOA/ACGME merger deadline approaches in 2020.
Programs that have received initial accreditation in 2018 include:
- Allegheny Health Network Medical Education Consortium (Pittsburgh, PA) — initial accreditation for a new EMS fellowship
- Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (Colton, CA) — initial accreditation for a new EMS fellowship)
- Case Western Reserve University (MetroHealth) Program (Cleveland, OH) — initial accreditation for a new EMS fellowship
- Charleston Area Medical Center (Charleston, WV)
- Florida State University College of Medicine
- Sarasota Memorial Hospital
- HCA West Florida GME Consortium Program (initial accreditation for programs at Oak Hill Hospital in Brooksville and Brandon Regional Hospital in Florida)
- Mercy Memorial Hospital System Program (Monroe, MI)
- Metro Health University of Michigan Health (Wyoming, MI)
- Midwestern University Osteopathic Postdoctoral Training institute Program (Kingman, AZ)
- Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences (Lawton) Program
- Rowan SOM/Jefferson Health/Our Lady of Lourdes Health System (Stratford, NJ)
- Rutgers New Jersey Medical School — initial accreditation for a new medical toxicology fellowship
- St. Joseph’s Medical Center Program (Stockton, CA)
- Unity Health/White County Medical Center Program (Searcy, AR)
- University Hospitals Osteopathic Consortium (UHOC) Program (Westlake, OH)
- University of Vermont Medical Center (Burlington, VT)
Prior to these new programs there were a total of 221 accredited EM programs. The RC-EM has accredited 49 AOA programs in the past 3 years as the single accreditation merger continues.
Common Program Requirements
The ACGME Common Program Requirements ensure that ACGME-accredited specialty and subspecialty programs follow a consistent set of standards. The RC-EM has been helping to revise these standards over the past several years, and EMRA has provided input on the proposed changes at each step.
The ACGME approved major revisions to Section VI on July 1, 2017, with changes focusing on clinical experience and education (formerly known as duty hours); patient safety, supervision, and accountability; professionalism; well-being; fatigue mitigation; and clinical responsibilities, teamwork, and transitions of care. Implementation is underway, with a July 1, 2019, deadline for all programs to comply with all changes.
This year, the ACGME Common Program Requirements Phase 2 Task Force has proposed revisions to Sections I-V, and the ACGME Board is now considering the task force recommendations. The proffered changes focus on scholarly activity requirements, residency outcomes, well.being, diversity, patient safety, doctor-patient communication (specifically regarding end-of-life goals), the role and responsibilities of program directors (as well as faculty and staff), and more.
For details of the requirements currently in effect, along with a timeline for implementation plus FAQs on the Common Program Requirements changes, visit the ACGME site.