executive director's messagE
Update Regarding the Proposed Unified Accreditation System for GME
By Lee Vander Lugt, DO, FAOAO
As many of our members are aware, the AOA (American Osteopathic Association), the AACOM (American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine), and the ACGME (Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education) issued a joint statement on October 24, 2012, announcing that discussions had begun regarding a proposed single accreditation system for all GME (Graduate Medical Education) in the U.S. To move ahead with these discussions an AOA/ACGME task force was appointed. The task force has been working on establishing guidelines for this proposed system by developing a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding). This has proven to be an arduous task and since discussions are ongoing the document is not open for public knowledge. Initially, a timeline for this single system was proposed for July 1, 2015 but at the current pace of the work this seems unrealistic.
Recently, in an attempt to speed up the process, the AOA/ACGME task force has agreed to meet more frequently, including meetings between the staffs of both organizations. The goal is to develop an overarching MOU and a conceptual framework for specialty college review of AOA/ACGME training standards. The AOAO has reviewed the Orthopedic ACGME standards and we are poised to undertake discussions with the Orthopedic RRC (Residency Review Committee) for the ACGME. The AOAO Board of Directors fully supports this process and looks forward to working with the ACGME in the development of a unified set of orthopedic training standards.
At the present time, the AOA anticipates the MOU going to the ACGME Board of Directors and the AACOM Board of Deans at their respective June 2013 meetings and to the AOA Board of Trustees at its July 2013 meeting.
The AOA has established a special web page regarding this issue. It is updated frequently and has an excellent FAQ section. I encourage you to visit http://www.Osteopathic.org/ACGME for the most current information. To view a recent update by John Crosby, JD, AOA Executive Director, visit http://www.do-online.org/TheDO/?p=131371.
