Hello, my fellow emergency medicine residents! I am your new representative to the Residency Review Committee – Emergency Medicine (RRC-EM), stepping into the big footprints left by my predecessor, Dr. Brandon Allen. Think of me as your liaison to the ACGME committee that accredits your residency program and makes all of us board-eligible through ABEM.
As part of my responsibilities with EMRA, I serve in two capacities with the ACGME. The first is as a resident member of the RRC-EM. In broad strokes, we review all new programs for accreditation in categorical emergency medicine and the associated subspecialties, while also ensuring compliance by ongoing programs with the RRC's program requirements. My second job is as the EM member of the Council of Review Committee Residents (CRCR), where resident members of all 28 ACGME-RRC specialty boards join to discuss issues relevant to residents in general.
January 2015 CRCR Meeting Update
The winter semi-annual CRCR meeting concluded in mid-January. The president and chairman of the ACGME and other senior leadership were present, which truly demonstrated the value they place on resident input. A principle topic of the meeting was the program development for the recent 2015 ACGME Education Conference, an annual event where program directors and other residency program staff can meet to discuss the latest trends in GME. Central themes that repeatedly came up at the CRCR meeting were leadership, innovations in education, and resident wellness.
January 2015 RRC-EM Meeting Update
The winter RRC meeting at the end of January consisted of two action-packed days of program reviews and discussion about the soon-to-be single accreditation system. On the first day, our committee reviewed 43 programs. As the Next Accreditation System (NAS) matures, our committee has been required to adapt to these uncharted waters. It is my great pleasure to announce that four new emergency medical services (EMS) programs have been approved for initial accreditation.
The programs are:
- Medical College of Georgia (GA)
- Penn State Hershey Medical Center (PA)
- Palmetto Health (SC)
- Carilion Clinic-Virginia Tech (VA)
In regards to the single accreditation system (initiated July 1), ACGME leaders offered an update on what to expect and proposed next steps. This system will work to bring DO and MD residencies under the same roof. DO programs applying for accreditation will have five years of eligibility to do so. Currently 56 osteopathic emergency medicine residency programs will be eligible, and they were encouraged to apply for accreditation. It remains to be seen how many programs will ultimately submit their applications and how many of those will meet the RRC's program requirements. When an osteopathic program applies for accreditation, they will be given “pre-accreditation” status, which enables the program's residents to apply to ACGME fellowships in emergency medicine. Previously this was not the case, and through this merger osteopathic-trained residents will have additional sub-specialty training available to them.
With the single accreditation system, the RRC also will be welcoming three new members to the committee. We will be utilizing the skills and expertise of one public member and two osteopathic program members.
May 2015 RRC-EM Meeting Update
The RRC committee met again for one day in early May to review the programs on the agenda. This meeting was brief, but very productive. I was able to attend with Dr. Allen, the previous RRC rep, and had the pleasure of welcoming other new members, including the two new osteopathic members – Dr. Kevin Weaver, program director at Lehigh Valley Medical Center in Allentown, Pa., and Dr. Alan Janssen, program director at Genesys Regional Medical Center in Grand Blanc, Mich. Their insight will help as the allopathic and osteopathic EM residencies come under the banner of the ACGME in the years to come.
As part of this meeting, we were able to welcome a few new programs – one core EM program and two more EMS fellowships:
- Crozer-Chester Medical Center Program (PA) (core EM)
- Boston University Medical Center (MA) (EMS)
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (MD) (EMS)
If you have any questions or would like to find out more about the ACGME and how it affects you, please reach me at rrcemrep@emra.org.