An historical review of graduate medical education and a protocol of Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education compliance

Abstract

Purpose: A brief history of American graduate medical education is discussed to provide a context for understanding the new standards set forth by the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The evaluation protocol of the University of Washington, which is structured around the 6 core competencies, is described.

Materials and methods: Historical events regarding American graduate medical education, national conference information and recent ACGME recommendations according to the Outcomes Project are reviewed and summarized. These materials were used to design a reasonable program that would comply with ACGME recommendations.

Results: ACGME tools that represent the 6 core competencies have been incorporated into our program and should provide metrics that will demonstrate improvement in residency training and education.

Conclusions: A key factor to the success of residency training and ACGME accreditation will be the education of residents and faculty about the new ACGME regulations. The University of Washington Department of Urology is poised to engage the new model by creating new call coverage strategies, applying new metrics to old teaching models and using electronic database systems.