901 N. Washington Avenue Lansing, MI 48906 Phone: (517)485-5484 Fax: (517)485-0801 cord@cordem.org

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Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)

Residency Review Committee (RRC)
515 North State Street, #2000
Chicago, IL 60610
Telephone: (312) 464-4920
Fax: (312) 464-4098
Email: individual directories on the website, and

The ACGME is jointly sponsored by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), American Hospital Association (AHA), American Medical Association (AMA), Council of Medical Specialty Societies, and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). In addition, the federal government names a representative to serve in a nonvoting capacity, and the ACGME chooses two public representatives. There is also a resident representative and the chair of the Residency Review Committee Council serves as a nonvoting member.

The mission of the ACGME is to improve the quality of health in the United States by ensuring and improving the quality of graduate medical education experience for physicians in training. The ACGME establishes national standards for graduate medical education and approves and continually assesses educational programs under its aegis. Under this aegis, review committees with delegated accreditation authority carry out the accreditation of Emergency Medicine (and other educational programs).

A Residency Review Committee (RRC) consists of representatives appointed by the American Medical Association, the appropriate specialty board (ABEM, in the case of Emergency Medicine), and in some cases a national specialty organization (ACEP in the case of Emergency Medicine).

GME programs are accredited when they are judged to be in compliance with the Essentials of Accredited Residencies in Graduate Medical Education. The Essentials consist of:

1. The Institutional Requirements: prepared by ACGME, approved by the sponsoring organizations, and that apply to all programs.
2. The Program Requirements: prepared by a review committee for its area of competence, approved by the ACGME.

1. Under "ACGME Information" is "Section I" in the table of contents. This is essential reading for the Program Director and includes a thorough review of the residency review process, the forms and duration of accreditation, the process for probation and withdrawal of accreditation, appeals process, and the role of the site visitor.

   Following the above is a description of International Medical Graduate (IMG) testing requirements, the differing visa statuses, and an outline of the employment authorization from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. The last segment details the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP), its requirements, important dates, and special situations such as the Couples Match.

2. After "ACGME Information" [in the table of contents] is "Policies and Procedures." Included are sections on Organization of Review Committees, Responsibilities of Review Committees, Accreditation of Graduate Medical Education Programs (another review of documents, site visit, and accreditation process), and financing of the accreditation process.

3. Under "Residency Review Committees" one will find the "Emergency Medicine" site. Opening this will bring up the "Residency Review Committee for Emergency Medicine Home Page." To go directly to this site, the address is: www.acgme.org/rrc/em/em.html The Table of Contents includes:

   1. ACGME Staff: includes the title, name, and contact information of RRC staff. The point of contact for Emergency Medicine Program Directors is:

      Larry D. Sulton, PhD*
      Executive Director, RRCs for:
      Emergency Medicine
      Neurological Surgery
      Preventive Medicine
      Psychiatry
      (312) 464-5404
      E-mail: lds@acgme.org

      *Dr. Sulton prefers to communicate via email

   2. Committee Members: includes pictures and names of members, titles, and representative organizations.

   3. RRC Newsletter: provides timely information concerning the Emergency Medicine RRC, its activities, and considerations. Includes information regarding electronic Program Information Forms (PIFs), Program Changes, and Program Requirements.

   4. RRC Meeting Data: lists of common citations for noncompliance.

   5. Program Requirements: includes special requirements for Emergency Medicine, Policies and Procedures for Subspecialties in Emergency Medicine, e.g. EM-Medical Toxicology, EM-Pediatric, and EM-Sports Medicine. The special requirements for Emergency Medicine are an important guideline for the Program Director undergoing an RRC Site Visit and should be reviewed in advance of preparation for such a visit.

   6. Download PIFs: the Program Information Forms are the basis for information gathering and documentation in preparation for an RRC site visit. PIFs for Emergency Medicine, EM-Medical Toxicology, EM-Pediatric, and EM-Sports Medicine are available to download in either WordPerfect or Word for Windows formats.

4. "Site Visit Information" presents a detailed review of the site visit process.

5. "ACGME Meetings" provides the dates and locations of various ACGME-sponsored meetings. A conference that should be considered " must-attend" for the new Program Director is "Mastering the Accreditation Process". Valuable information and insight regarding the accreditation process is followed by a half-day breakout session with the Executive Director of the Emergency Medicine RRC.

6. "RRC Meetings" provides dates of upcoming meetings.

7. Under "Faxback" there is the opportunity to obtain program or institutional requirements (not available at the time of this printing in October, 1999).

8. "ACGME Workshops" provides detailed information on the "Mastering the Accreditation Process" workshops.

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