FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

GME: GRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION GME / Period of the physician postgraduate training in a specialty (Residency) or subspecialty (Fellowship), accredited by the ACGME. 

ACGME: ACCREDITATION COUNCIL FOR GRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION in the USA

Residency Program. Residency is a dynamic dimension of the transformation of the medical student in the way to become an independent medical practitioner. The satisfactory completion of the program may result in eligibility for examinations to obtain board certification. The Residency program will establish its Residency manual in compliance with the ACGME requirements. 

Residents: Physician in training enrolled in a Post-Graduate Medical Education Residency program at the Sponsoring Institution.

Fellowship program: post graduate program to train the physician in a specific subspecialty (example: cardiology) 

Fellows: Physician enrolled in a subspecialty Fellowship program at the Sponsoring Institution.  

PGY: Means Postgraduate Training Year. 

Sponsoring Institution: Healthcare or Medical Education organization that takes the ultimate financial and academic responsibility to develop Graduate Medical Education programs accredited by the ACGME. This will be the primary training site for the Residents to receive teaching, supervision, and evaluation by the faculty. 

The Sponsoring Institution must operate in significant compliance with the ACGME Institutional Requirements and shall guarantee that its ACGME-accredited programs operate in substantial compliance with the ACGME Institutional, Common, and specialty-subspecialty-specific Program Requirements. 

Accreditation is supervised by a Review Committee made up of volunteer specialty experts from the field that set accreditation standards and provide peer evaluation of Sponsoring Institutions and specialty residency programs.

Governing Body: Single entity that maintains authority over and responsibility for the Sponsoring Institution and its ACGME-accredited programs.

Faculty: Individuals who meet the qualifications and have received a formal assignment to teach Resident/Fellow physicians.

DIO or Designated Institutional Official: Individual who, in collaboration with a Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC), have authority and responsibility for the oversight and administration of each of the Sponsoring Institution’s ACGME-accredited programs, as well as for ensuring compliance with the ACGME Institutional, Common, and specialty-/subspecialty-specific Program Requirements.

GMEC: Graduate Medical Education Committee (the Committee that supervises the institution GME operation The graduate medical education committee (GMEC) has responsibilities that include oversight of institutional and program accreditation, quality of the learning and working environment, quality of the educational experiences, programs’ annual evaluation and improvement activities, processes related to reduction/closure of programs and provision of patient safety reports.

Clinical Competency Committee. The required body comprising three or more members of the active teaching faculty who are advisors to the program director (PD) and review the progress of all residents/fellows in the program.

Core Competencies. Competencies are specific knowledge, skills, behaviors, and attitudes in the following domains: patient care and procedural skills; medical knowledge; practice-based learning and improvement; interpersonal and communication skills; professionalism; and systems-based practice.

Complement. A complement is the maximum number of residents or fellows approved by a Review Committee per year and/or per program based upon the availability of adequate resources.

Program Evaluation Committee. The program evaluation committee (PEC) is the group appointed by the PD to conduct the Annual Program Evaluation and program review as needed.