High-Quality Learning for High-Quality Health Care
Getting It Right
- David C. Leach, MD;
- Ingrid Philibert, MHA, MBA
- Author Affiliations: Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, Chicago, Ill.
- Corresponding Author: Ingrid Philibert, MHA, MBA, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, 515 N State St, Suite 2000, Chicago, IL 60610 (iphilibert{at}acgme.org).
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
- KEYWORDS:
- EDUCATION, MEDICAL, GRADUATE
- INTERNSHIP AND RESIDENCY
- LEARNING
- PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE
- WORK SCHEDULE TOLERANCE
In July 2003, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) established common residency program requirements that, among other provisions, restricted the number of hours the 100 000 residents in the United States can be on duty. In the 3 years that followed, the duty hour sections of the common requirements have received considerable attention from the media, the public, and the academic community. Comments have ranged from praise of the limits as critical to better patient care and learner safety and well-being,1-2 to predictions that they will spell doom for professionalism and continuity of care.3
The ACGME established duty hour limits with the goal of ensuring high-quality learning and safe, effective care in teaching settings.4 At the same time, the ACGME accreditation focus extends far beyond resident hours. Its review committees use information on the curriculum, the quality and engagement of faculty, institutional resources, supervision, …
