Self-Study Tools
Overview
The ACGME is finalizing its plans for the program Self-Study and developing its process for conducting periodic site visits for programs with a status of Continued Accreditation. The ACGME will not assign program Self-Study dates or 10-Year Accreditation Site Visit dates until further notice. Look for updated information in the coming months. Note: Sponsoring Institution Self-Studies will proceed according to the Institutional Review Committee’s announced plan.
A test of a voluntary self-study pilot visit
The ACGME initiated a pilot study for any program in the seven Phase I specialties (Radiology, Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Neurological Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery, and Urology) with its initial 10-year site visit scheduled between April 2015 and January 2017 (note that the interval for the pilot was recently extended from the original end date of July 2016). The objective is to assess if an added site visit to review the self-study will accelerate program improvement. In this pilot, following the program’s self-study, a special (non-accreditation) visit for guided discussion and feedback would be conducted by a group of field representatives with added training in self-study review. Programs volunteer to be part of this pilot.
The self-study pilot visit will not be an accreditation visit, and data shared by programs will not be used to assess compliance with requirements. Twelve to 18 months after the self-study pilot visit, the program would have its scheduled 10-year site visit. Additional detailed information about the self-study pilot visit is provided in a memorandum by ACGME Chief Executive Officer Thomas J. Nasca, MD, MACP.
Review Committee evaluation of programs with early 10-year site visits
For a program with an early 10-year site visit, the Review Committee’s evaluation of the self-study will not have any accreditation impact. The ACGME will conduct an extensive program evaluation of these early 10-year site visits, focusing in particular on collecting best practice information for conducting the self-study. This information will be disseminated via the ACGME website and the Journal of Graduate Medical Education.