Progress Continues

Single GME accreditation: A brief update

Nearly 70% of AOA programs have obtained or applied for ACGME accreditation.

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Additional AOA training programs have successfully achieved ACGME accreditation as the review committees completed their April meetings.

All AOA programs—residencies, fellowships and internships

As of April 30, 861 of 1,244 AOA programs, or about 70%, achieved or applied for ACGME accreditation. This is 86 more programs since the halfway mark of the transition in December 2017.

AOA residency program progress

The number of AOA residency programs that have achieved ACGME accreditation or submitted applications has also grown since the December 2017 midpoint. At that time, 667 of 862 residency programs had transitioned. Now, 83% of residencies, or 716 of 862 programs, have obtained accreditation or submitted applications. Thirty-one more programs are planning to apply.

“Among specialties, osteopathic internal medicine programs have led the way from the beginning in successfully transitioning to ACGME accreditation,” says AOA Immediate Past President Boyd Buser, DO. “Family medicine and emergency medicine programs are transitioning well, along with several other specialties. As we approach the end of the third year of this five-year transition, we’re excited to see so many of our larger programs and specialties setting the pace.”

AOA programs in anesthesiology, family medicine, internal medicine, neurology, psychiatry, physical medicine and rehabilitation, pediatrics, emergency medicine, urological surgery and ob-gyn made big strides in achieving ACGME accreditation.

Specialty Percentage of AOA programs with ACGME accreditation Number of AOA programs with ACGME accreditation
Anesthesiology 92% 12
Family medicine 69% 182
Internal medicine 84% 122
Neurology 81% 9
Psychiatry 76% 19
Physical medicine and rehabilitation 83% 5
Pediatrics 90% 19
Emergency medicine 77% 48
Urological surgery 73% 8
Ob-gyn 70% 26

Application status as of May 7, 2018

Osteopathic recognition 

Overall, 165 programs have applied for or obtained initial osteopathic recognition (OR). Of those programs, 16% are ACGME programs with no previous ties to AOA accreditation. While the majority of OR programs are in family medicine or internal medicine, programs representing 18 different specialties and subspecialties have applied for OR.

For further reading:

Single GME: Halfway through the transition

ACGME offers new single GME accreditation transition resources

Single GME: How to expedite the ACGME application process

10 comments

  1. donna

    we need the real numbers. all programs have to transition. how many are accredited as of now in each specialty? how many have been rejected? how many are closing?
    touting ourselves for the total number of applications is meaningless.
    how many pd’s have lost their position?

  2. Seth

    What about orthopedics, general surgery, and ophthalmology? I hear they are being given a really hard time with ACGME accreditation. At least in Pennsylvania, they are.

  3. MOHSEN TAVOUSSI, MD, DO

    The single GME accreditation will be the death of osteopathic surgical specialties and eventually makes AOA and osteopathic medicine redundant.

    1. Raine Richards, JD, AOA Director of State Government Affairs

      Resolution 42 provides a pathway for DOs who complete an ACGME residency training program to obtain AOA recognition for their PGY-1 year, thereby satisfying the osteopathic internship requirement in certain states. Resolution 42 will continue to exist after the transition to the single GME accreditation system, but the AOA is working to advocate for changes in these states’ requirements in light of the transition, so that DOs will be eligible for licensure in those states without having to complete the Resolution 42 process.

      Out of the 14 states with osteopathic licensing boards, five have had an osteopathic internship requirement. Three of the five (Michigan, Oklahoma, and West Virginia) have changed this requirement to ensure that osteopathic residents can qualify for osteopathic licensure irrespective of whether they completed an AOA or an ACGME internship year. Two states, Florida and Pennsylvania, still require an osteopathic internship; however, the Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine recently voted to change this requirement, and the AOA is working with the Florida Osteopathic Medical Association to make the necessary legislative change during the 2019 legislative session. We are seeking similar changes to Pennsylvania’s regulations to minimize the administrative burden on DOs and streamline the licensure application process, and we will provide updates on any changes to the status of these requirements.

      1. JK

        Thank-you Mr. Richards, AOA and FOMA for working to streamline licensure for DOs in FL ACGME programs! After reading this, training and remaining in FL seems very possible, and is a relief to hear. I will start residency in 2019, and I hope that the legislation change will be in effect for my PGY-1.

      2. Meredith St.Clair

        Mr. Richards,
        Are there any new advances in the Pennsylvania Board of Osteopathic Medicine changing their requirements for DO residents in Allopathic programs? I am a second year resident and applying for recognition now.

      3. Meredith St.Clair

        Mr. Richards,

        Have you heard of any further progress with Pennsylvania dropping the need for allopathic residency approval?

  4. Marc A. Kaplan, D.O.

    Getting our small FM program through the ACGME maze to achieve Initial Accreditation was perhaps the most unpleasant experience of my life. Our application was 202 pages long.

    As far as the future is concerned, the osteopathic profession has clearly poisoned itself with this approach to the future. Whether is is fatal or not I can’t tell. I fear that it is.

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