A New Model for Accreditation of Residency Programs in Internal Medicine

A New Model for Accreditation of Residency Programs in Internal Medicine

Allan H. Goroll, MD;
Carl Sirio, MD;
F. Daniel Duffy, MD;
Richard F. LeBlond, MD;
Patrick Alguire, MD;
Thomas A. Blackwell, MD;
William E. Rodak, PhD;
Thomas Nasca, MD; and
the Residency Review Committee for Internal Medicine

From Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; American Board of Internal Medicine, American College of Physicians, and Thomas Jefferson University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; University of Iowa School of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa; University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas; and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, Chicago, Illinois.

Abstract

A renewed emphasis on clinical competence and its assessment has grown out of public concerns about the safety, efficacy, and accountability of health care in the United States. Medical schools and residency training programs are paying increased attention to teaching and evaluating basic clinical skills, stimulated in part by these concerns and the responding initiatives of accrediting, certifying, and licensing bodies. This paper, from the Residency Review Committee for Internal Medicine of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, proposes a new outcomes-based accreditation strategy for residency training programs in internal medicine. It shifts residency program accreditation from external audit of educational process to continuous assessment and improvement of trainee clinical competence.

Article and Author Information

Acknowledgments: The authors are grateful for the support and wise counsel provided by the entire membership of the Residency Review Committee for Internal Medicine (2000–2003) and for the leadership and foresight of David C. Leach, MD.
Potential Financial Conflicts of Interest:Employment: F.D. Duffy (American Board of Internal Medicine), W.E. Rodack (Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education).
Requests for Single Reprints: Allan H. Goroll, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital, Ambulatory Care Center, Suite 645, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA 02114; e-mail, ahgoroll{at}partners.org.
Current Author Addresses: Dr. Goroll: Massachusetts General Hospital, Ambulatory Care Center, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA 02114.
Dr. Sirio: Division of Critical Care, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, 200 Lothrop Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213.
Dr. Duffy: American Board of Internal Medicine, 510 Walnut Street, Suite 1700, Philadelphia, PA 19106-3699.
Dr. LeBlond: Family Care Center, University of Iowa, 01286-C PFP, Iowa City, IA 52242.
Dr. Alguire: American College of Physicians, 190 N. Independence Mall West, Philadelphia, PA 19106-1572.
Dr. Blackwell: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Boulevard, Galveston, TX 77555-0570.
Dr. Rodak: Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, 515 North State Street, Suite 2000, Chicago, IL 60610.
Dr. Nasca: Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, 1025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107.

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