Partners HealthCare®

Guidelines and Templates

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Affairs (ACGME) has guidelines for curriculum descriptions and assessment processes to which all ACGME-accredited residencies and fellowships must adhere. 

All accredited programs must have a written curriculum that contains four common elements. These elements are intended to serve as developmental educational guidelines for both trainees and their teaching faculty. The four common curriculum components are listed here, along with a suggested curriculum template to assist faculty members in writing or revising curricular descriptions that are in alignment with the ACGME requirements. Although non-ACGME accredited programs are not required to have such structured written curricula, the Partners HealthCare Office of Graduate Medical Education has created a template as a suggestion for program directors to follow when describing the educational objectives and related activities associated with non-ACGME accredited programs. This section also contains a number of examples of Partners HealthCare program curricula.

The ACGME has a number of requirements related to program assessment processes.  In addition to trainee assessments and evaluations, trainees must have an opportunity to evaluate their teaching faculty, and both trainees and faculty must annually evaluate the program itself. This section contains the ACGME guidelines for program-related assessment and evaluations, as well as suggested templates and examples of various assessments. New Innovations Residency Management Suite has been the electronic method to facilitate the dissemination and collection of evaluation information at Partners.

Curriculum Resources

Guidelines

Template for an ACGME Program Curriculum

Template for a Non-ACGME Program Curriculum

Curriculum Content/Program Description for Non-ACGME Programs

General Competency Standards

Sample Curricula:

Goals and Objectives 

Endoscopy All Sites

Continuity Clinic Brigham and Women's Hospital GI

Competency Goals by Clinical Year 25-Nov-09, Oncology

Brigham and Women's General Surgery Sample Curriculum

Evaluations

ACGME Requirements for Evaluation (excerpted from the ACGME website)

Resident Evaluation

Resident Formative Evaluation

• The faculty must evaluate resident performance in a timely manner during each rotation or similar educational assignment, and document this evaluation at completion of the assignment.
• The program must:
  • provide objective assessments of competence in patient care, medical knowledge, practice-based learning and improvement, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, and systems-based practice;
  • use multiple evaluators (e.g., faculty, peers, patients, self, and other professional staff);
  • document progressive resident performance improvement appropriate to educational level;
  • provide each resident with documented semiannual evaluation of performance with feedback.

• The evaluations of resident performance must be accessible for review by the resident, in accordance with institutional policy.

Resident Summative Evaluation

The program director must provide a summative evaluation for each resident upon completion of the program. This evaluation must become part of the resident’s permanent record maintained by the institution, and must be accessible for review by the resident in accordance with institutional policy. This evaluation must:

• document the resident’s performance during the final period of education
• verify that the resident has demonstrated sufficient competence to enter practice without direct supervision.

Faculty Evaluation

At least annually, the program must evaluate faculty performance as it relates to the educational program.

These evaluations should include a review of the faculty’s clinical teaching abilities, commitment to the educational program, clinical knowledge, professionalism, and scholarly activities.

This evaluation must include at least annual written confidential evaluations by the residents.

Program Evaluation and Improvement

The program must document formal, systematic evaluation of the curriculum at least annually. The program must monitor and track each of the following areas:

• resident performance
• faculty development
• graduate performance, including performance of program graduates on the certification examination
• program quality, specifically:
  • Residents and faculty must have the opportunity to evaluate the program confidentially and in writing at least annually, and
  • The program must use the results of residents’ assessments of the program together with other program evaluation results to improve the program

If deficiencies are found, the program should prepare a written plan of action to document initiatives to improve performance in the areas listed in section V.C.1. The action plan should be reviewed and approved by the teaching faculty and documented in meeting minutes.

Examples of Assessment Tools

The ACGME provides a toolbox of assessment methods with 'best' methods for each competency. The ACGME website also provides examples of assessment tools in four areas of competency. Seach on "assessment tools".