Accreditation
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) is a private, nonprofit organization responsible for the accreditation of post-MD medical training programs within the United States. Similarly, the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) accredits post-DO medical training programs. Training programs seeking accreditation will need to substantially comply with the ACGME or AOA common and specialty-specific program requirements and then complete applications for accreditation.
In February 2014 ACGME and AOA announced that the accrediting organizations had agreed to a single accreditation system for graduate medical education. This single accreditation system will allow graduates from both allopathic and osteopathic medical schools to complete their residency and fellowship training in ACGME-accredited programs and demonstrate achievement of common milestones and competencies.
View a listing of ACGME- and AOA-accredited hospice and palliative medicine training programs.
Program Requirements
All program directors will need to become familiar with the following key documents available on the ACGME and AOA websites in order to apply for accreditation and complete the application:
ACGME
Program Requirements (institutional and common requirements that apply to all specialties and subspecialties)
Subspecialty Program Requirements (specific requirements for HPM programs)
Companion Document (core competencies for HPM fellowship training)
AOA
AOA Postdoctoral Training Resources
Preparing Your ACGME Application
ACGME has posted application instructions on their website. Hospice programs will be considered for accreditation only if the sponsoring institution also sponsors an ACGME-accredited program in at least one of the following specialties: anesthesia, emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, neurology, psychiatry, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, physical medicine and rehabilitation, radiation oncology, or surgery.
All applications for a new program must be initiated by the Sponsoring Institution Designated Institutional Official (DIO) using the Accreditation Data System (ADS) found on the ACGME home page.
Visit the ACGME website or the AOA website to learn more.
Resource: The Journey to ACGME Accreditation: A Program's Perspectives and Practical Guidance From the ACGME
Review Process
For hospice and palliative medicine, the work of reviewing specific programs and making accreditation decisions will be carried out by the ACGME Residency Review Committee (RRC) of the fellowship's respective core program. Applications judged to be noncompliant with the requirements will have the opportunity to respond to the RRC's concerns and citations.