Coming Soon: CLER COVID-19 Site Visits
For the past several months, the CLER Program has been developing a special site visit to identify and understand areas where the experience with COVID-19 may have a sustained impact on the clinical learning environment. The goal is to inform executive clinical learning environment and graduate medical education (GME) leaders as they examine and adapt their systems to optimize learning and patient care. The visits will also provide the ACGME with timely information on new needs of Sponsoring Institutions and their clinical learning environments resulting from these adaptations. On October 19, 2020 the CLER team will begin field testing the visits in preparation for launch in January 2021. Importantly, the CLER Program will avoid reaching out to any Sponsoring Institution while it has "Emergency Category" status.
A brief overview of this new CLER site visit was presented as part of the ACGME's weekly national DIO calls. A webinar with more detail is being planned for late November/early December 2020. Continue to read ACGME communications for details.
For information on scheduling notices and blackout weeks, email CLER@acgme.org.
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!
Join the ACGME for the 2021 Annual Educational Conference taking place virtually February 24-26, 2021. The conference theme, Meaning in Medicine: Mastering the Moment, highlights how the graduate medical education (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 uniting with new and old colleagues, discovering and exchanging ideas, and discussing academic medicine’s biggest challenges and greatest achievements.
Engage with more than 250 speakers presenting more than 100 thought-provoking sessions, including half-day pre-conferences. Topics include: ACGME accreditation and initiatives; well-being; innovations in the clinical learning environment; diversity, equity, and inclusion; faculty and professional development; COVID-19; crisis management; and many others.
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.
REMINDER! Designated Institutional Official/Program Director Parental Leave Survey Due
DIOs and program directors are invited to fill out a survey to capture the current status of institutional and program policies on parental, medical, and caregiver leave, and their impact on Sponsoring Institutions, and programs, and participating sites. The survey is located in the Accreditation Data System (ADS).
The deadline for DIOs is Monday, November 16. The deadline for program directors is Thursday, November 19. Responses to this survey will inform the deliberations on parental, medical, and caregiver leave.
The ACGME Board of Directors recently reviewed recommendations from the Parental Leave Task Force appointed by the Board in September 2019. The ACGME is now considering revisions to its Requirements consistent with the Task Force’s recommendations and reflecting recent changes in certifying board policies. These new certifying board policies allow six weeks of parental, medical, and caregiver leave once during the course of the residency/fellowship without extending education and training for purposes of board eligibility, whether through a separate benefit, flexible use of vacation/sick time (averaging/banking), or other mechanisms.
Email questions to acgmecommunications@acgme.org.
NEW! Resources for Assessment Webcast
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.
WEBCAST: November 16 at 1:00 p.m. Central
Register Today
ABMS Faculty Certification Data and Faculty Roster Update
The ACGME will now obtain faculty certification data for all physicians from the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) and, if available, will display the data in each faculty member’s profile on the Faculty Roster in the Accreditation Data System (ADS). The ABMS-provided data are read-only and cannot be edited by the program or the ACGME. The ACGME is working with the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) to obtain the faculty certification data for their certifying Boards.
Send general questions to ADS@acgme.org; for specialty-specific questions contact the staff of the relevant Review Committee, contact information for whom can be found on the specialty’s section of the ACGME website.
Pursuing Excellence Pathway Leaders Patient Safety Collaborative Report Now Available
The ACGME and its Clinical Learning Environment Review (CLER) Program is pleased to announce the release of a summary report of the Pursuing Excellence Pathway Leaders Patient Safety Collaborative. The report describes how teams from nine Sponsoring Institutions worked with the leaders of their clinical learning environments to improve resident and fellow engagement in addressing patient safety. The report highlights key concepts and lessons learned.
Coordinator Timelines Available
The ACGME's Coordinator Advisory Group developed three timelines that summarize the types of tasks, events, and deadlines coordinators manage in a typical academic year. The timelines are designed to help new and veteran coordinators organize and prioritize their daily, weekly, and monthly projects.
The three customizable versions (for residency, fellowship, and institutional coordinators) can be found on the Additional Resources page under the Program Directors and Coordinators tab on the ACGME website.
The Advisory Group thanks the many coordinators who have contributed decades of collective knowledge and experience that aided in the creation of these materials.
Email feedback, suggestions, or questions about the timelines to coordadvgroup@acgme.org.
Milestones Mid-Year Reporting Open Until January 14
The reporting window will be open throughThursday, January 14, 2021. Milestones assessments can be submitted via the ACGME's Accreditation Data System (ADS) at any point during this time. A list of specialties that have transitioned to Milestones 2.0 can be found on the Milestones page.
For technical assistance, email ADS@acgme.org.
For content questions, email milestones@acgme.org.
Review Committee News and Notices: Dermatology
An “Update to Association of Professors of Dermatology 2020” has been added to the Documents and Resources page in the Dermatology section of the ACGME website.
Email questions to eanthony@acgme.org.
Save the Date! Ophthalmology
The Review Committee will host a Review Committee Update webinar for program directors and coordinators Monday, January 25, 2021 from 7:00-8:00 p.m. Central. There will also be an opportunity to meet one-on-one virtually with the Review Committee Chair and Executive Director on the afternoon of Thursday, January 28, 2021.
Continue reading the weekly e-Communication and other ACGME communications for details as the webinar approaches.
Review Committee News and Notices: Radiology - Required Procedure Counts in Interventional Radiology Update
Currently in interventional radiology, one procedure per patient encounter is allowed to count toward the 1,000 required procedures in interventional radiology (PR IV.B.1.b).(2).(f).(i)). At its recent meeting, the Review Committee determined there are scenarios when exceptions to this interpretation are acceptable, and it will adopt the following modification:
- Updated Rule: Residents may count two unrelated procedures during the same patient encounter.
- Example 1: The resident places a gastrostomy-tube and an IVC filter during a single patient encounter. In this scenario, the resident can count both the G-tube and the inferior vena cava filter as two separate procedures on the same patient.
- Example 2: The resident performs an aortogram, selective angiogram, super selective angiogram, angioplasty, and stent placement and a liver biopsy during a single patient encounter. The most complex or important vascular procedure and the liver biopsy are eligible to be counted separately.
- Logging: Residents must enter both procedures into the ACGME Case Logs separately, as two independent entries, with the same patient data and same date of service.
- Limits: No more than two procedures may be counted per patient encounter.
Review Committee News and Notices: Orthopaedic Surgery
The Case Log System has been updated to reflect new required minimums in hand surgery for a set of 18 defined case categories, which are now in effect. Expectations for recording CPT codes for each case were also revised.
These changes are described in the Hand Surgery Case Log Coding Guidelines document available on the Documents and Resources page in the Orthopaedic Surgery section of the ACGME website. Included in this document is a list of the defined case categories, the required minimum numbers and CPT codes included in each category.
Email questions to Executive Director Pamela Derstine, PhD, MHPE.
Review Committee News and Notices: Radiology - New Case Log Model Coming Soon
A new Case Log model for diagnostic and interventional radiology is being developed. The new format will allow for better tracking of cases, as well as opportunities to track procedures and CPT codes not currently required. The release is planned for early January 2021.
More information and tutorials will be coming soon.
Review Committee News and Notices: Radiology - Required Procedure Counts in Interventional Radiology Update
Currently in interventional radiology, one procedure per patient encounter can count toward the 1,000 required procedures in interventional radiology (PR IV.B.1.b).(2).(f).(i)). At its recent meeting, the Review Committee determined there are scenarios when exceptions to this interpretation are acceptable, and it will adopt the following modification:
- Updated Rule: Residents may count two unrelated procedures during the same patient encounter.
- Example 1: The resident places a gastrostomy-tube and an IVC filter during a single patient encounter. In this scenario, the resident can count both the G-tube and the inferior vena cava filter as two separate procedures on the same patient.
- Example 2: The resident performs an aortogram, selective angiogram, super selective angiogram, angioplasty, and stent placement and a liver biopsy during a single patient encounter. The most complex or important vascular procedure and the liver biopsy are eligible to be counted separately.
- Logging: Residents must enter both procedures into the ACGME Case Logs separately, as two independent entries, with the same patient data and same date of service.
- Limits: No more than two procedures may be counted per patient encounter.
A new Case Log model for diagnostic and interventional radiology is being developed. The new format will allow for better tracking of cases, as well as opportunities to track procedures and CPT codes not currently required. The release is planned for early January 2021.
More information and tutorials will be coming soon.
Review Committee News and Notices: Radiology - ESIR Application Guidelines Updated
Updates for early specialization in interventional radiology (ESIR) require a more specific description of the ESIR resident selection process. The guidelines can be found on the Documents and Resources page of the Radiology section of the ACGME website.
Review Committee News and Notices: Urology
There are several updates to the Case Log System for urology residents.
ACGME Case Log information now reflects the new urology minimums for the index categories. These new minimums will be used beginning with the 2021 graduates. A document with these updates is available on the Documents and Resources page of the Urology section of the ACGME website.
Additionally, residents should now record the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) fusion as part of a prostate biopsy. When MRI fusion is used, residents should choose the version of CPT code 55700 that indicates “TRUS/prostate biopsy with fusion.” Fusion biopsy numbers will be tracked, but there is not a set minimum.
Soon, robotic cases will be recorded by checking a "Robotic" checkbox on the individual CPT code rather than the case entry page, which will give residents credit towards the robotic index category minimum. This change will improve the accuracy of the resident robotic experience documented in the Case Log System. The “Logging Robotic Procedures” section has been updated to reflect this change.
Email questions to Executive Director Kathleen Quinn-Leering.
Career Opportunities
The ACGME currently has the following open positions:
Accreditation Standards Administrator
Administrative Assistant, CLER Operations
Executive Director, Surgical Accreditation
Payroll and HR Coordinator
Click on the position linked above for details and to complete an application.