Policy of the Graduate Medical Education Committee
Section: Resident Supervision/Work Environment
Subject: Resident Supervision
Number: 3.100
Date Developed:  1/89
Last Review/Revision: 2/05, 10/07
Replaces: previous policy titled Supervisory Lines of Responsibility, dated 11/01
ACGME Requirements: Institutional III.B.4; Common VI.B

Purpose
To define the requirements for supervision of residents.

Policy
Each residency (includes fellowships) program must provide appropriate supervision for a resident that is consistent with proper patient care, the educational needs of residents and the applicable accreditation Program Requirements.  Each Program Director shall develop explicit, written guidelines for supervision and responsibility that address the following:

1.      All patient care at each participating site is supervised by a sufficient number of qualified faculty.

2.      Faculty schedules are structured so that adequate supervision is available at all times.

3.      Rapid, reliable systems for communication with supervisory physicians are available. 

4.      Residents have progressive responsibility according to their level of education, competence and experience.  The level of responsibility accorded to each resident is determined by the teaching faculty according to program specific criteria for evaluation and promotion. 

5.      Procedures exist for addressing fatigue of residents and teaching faculty.

6.      Responsibilities are delineated for patient care, documentation and order writing for the training program’s residents and those residents in other specialties or subspecialties.

Such guidelines must be communicated to all residents and all members of the program’s teaching staff.