AAFP News (06/21/23) Mitchell, David
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has cleared an increase in protected nonclinical educational time for core family (FM) medicine faculty. The new requirements grant programs and residents greater flexibility and refocus on competency-based learning. The council previously mandated that sponsoring institutions offer FM program directors 0.7 full-time equivalent (FTE) for educational and administrative duties and 0.6 FTE educational time for each core faculty member, including both nonclinical work and resident supervision. However, requirements issued in September 2022 offered just 0.1 FTE for core faculty for educational and administrative responsibilities not entailing direct patient care. The American Academy of Family Medicine and six other FM organizations told the ACGME that extra time was "essential to create an effective program learning environment," especially for competency-based residency education. The new program requirements include personalized learning plans and more electives geared toward individual residents' future practice. AAFP Vice President of Medical Education Karen Mitchell, MD, said faculty will need additional time for evaluating and coaching residents, planning careers and education, developing curricula and producing and implementing learning opportunities. The ACGME board has mandated that core faculty will commit 60% of their time to education, administration, and scholarship and supervising patient care within the program starting on July 1, 2024. "This decision by ACGME to recognize the importance of dedicated faculty time for family medicine sets a positive course for the future of the specialty," Mitchell stated.
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