Here is important news for all program directors and for our colleagues who have graduated from an Osteopathic School, an Osteopathic Residency Program, or a non-LCME accredited medical school (i.e. all international medical graduates). Because of the perceived highly variable quality of osteopathic GME programs and of graduate medical education programs outside of the US and Canada, the ACGME proposes to implement, effective July, 2015 the following common program requirements:
- Applicants for ACGME accredited advanced core program positions (e.g. starting at the PGY-2 level such as ophthalmology or anesthesiology) who have not completed a PGY-1 year in an ACGME accredited program will no longer be eligible to apply for training. Training in an American Osteopathic Association (AOA) accredited PGY-1 year will no longer meet ANY program requirements for eligibility. All international medical graduates must also complete these specific requirements (i.e. an ACGME-i or ACGME accredited PGY-1 year)
- Applicants for ACGME accredited fellowship programs who completed an AOA accredited core residency program (e.g. internal medicine) will not meet eligibility requirements in any ACGME accredited fellowship program.. International medical graduates MUST complete an ACGME or an ACGME-i accredited core residency program prior to applying for a fellowship program. You will no longer be able to accept IMGs into fellowship programs who do not meet these requirements.
- There are some exception criteria that will be very difficult to meet and/or document. Individual RCs may decide whether or not to allow the proposed exception language.
Following breakdown of negotiations between the ACGME and the AOA which would have brought accreditation of all GME programs under the purview of the ACGME, it is virtually certain that these requirements will be adopted and effective July, 2015. Deadline dates for comments is September 9, 2013. Please send me directly any concerns that you have, and I will collate these and forward them to the ACGME under my institutional role. For details of the proposed changes, please click HERE.