The policies of the GME Committee are reviewed and revised periodically. Revised policies are effective as determined by the GME Committee. The following definitions apply to terms used in the policies.
Graduate Medical Education (GME): the second phase following undergraduate medical education or the medical school phase, which prepares physicians for practice in a medical specialty. GME focuses on the development of clinical skills and professional competencies and on the acquisition of detailed, factual knowledge in a medical specialty. This learning process prepares the physician for the independent practice of medicine in that specialty.
Residency Training Program: A program accredited to provide a structured educational experience designed to conform to the Program Requirements of a particular specialty.
Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME): is an association formed by five member organizations- American Board of Medical Specialties, American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, Association of American Medical Colleges, Council of Medical Specialty Societies. This council develops requirements for and oversees the accreditation of graduate medical education programs.
Accreditation: a process for determining whether a graduate medical education program or institution is in substantial compliance with established educational standards as promulgated in the institutional and program requirements. Accreditation is a voluntary process of evaluation which represents a professional judgment about the quality of an educational program. Decisions about accreditation are made by the specialty-specific Residency Review Committees (RRC) or the Institutional Review Committee (IRC) under the authority of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).
Certification: the process to provide assurance to the public that a certified medical specialist has successfully completed an approved educational program and an evaluation, including an examination process designed to assess the knowledge, experience and skills requisite to the provision of high quality care in a particular specialty. . The standards for certification are determined by the appropriate member specialty board recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS).
Licensure: this is distinct from both accreditation and certification and is the process of government through which an individual physician is given permission to practice medicine within a particular licensing jurisdiction. Medical licenses are granted by the Board of Medical Examiners (or the equivalent) in each licensing jurisdiction (the 50 states). Individuals in training programs in the State of Arkansas are not required to have a license while rendering services within the training program..
Sponsoring Institution: The organization that assumes the ultimate financial and academic responsibility for a program of GME. The sponsoring institution of all programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) at UAMS is the College of Medicine (UAMS-COM). The sponsoring institution has the primary purpose of providing educational programs.
Site: an organization providing educational experiences or educational assignments/rotations for residents/fellows.
Major Participating Site: A Review Committee-approved site to which all residents in at least one program rotate for a required educational experience, and for which a master affiliation agreement must be in place. To be designated as a major participating site in a two-year program, all residents must spend at least four months in a single required rotation or a combination of required rotations across both years of the program. In programs of three years or longer, all residents must spend at least six months in a single required rotation or a combination of required rotations across all years of the program. The term “major participating site” does not apply to sites providing required rotations in one year programs.
Program: A structured educational experience in graduate medical education designed to conform to the Program Requirements of a particular specialty/subspecialty, the satisfactory completion of which may result in eligibility for board certification.
Applicant: An M.D. or D.O invited to interview with a GME program
Intern: historically, a designation for individuals in the first year of GME. This term is no longer used by the ACGME.
Fellow: a physician in a program of graduate medical education who has completed the requirements for eligibility for first board certification in the specialty. At the UAMS COM the term resident is most often used interchangeably for fellows and residents.
Resident: a physician at any level of GME in any of the accredited training programs sponsored by the UAMS College of Medicine. For the purposes of the policies of the Graduate Medical Education Committee of the UAMS College of Medicine, the term resident refers to anyone in a GME program sponsored by the University of Arkansas College of Medicine, at levels PGY-1 and above. This includes all other terms such as intern, fellow or housestaff member or house officer.
Internal Review: A self-evaluation process undertaken by the GME Committee to judge whether each ACGME -accredited program is in substantial compliance with accreditation requirements.
Dean: the chief administrative and academic officer of the College of Medicine who recruits and appoints all departmental chairs, associate and assistant deans and all committees.
Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education: The Dean’s designee, also the DIO who, along with the GME Committee, has the authority and responsibility for the oversight and administration of the Sponsoring Institution's ACGME-accredited programs and is responsible for assuring compliance with ACGME requirements. The Associate Dean for GME serves this role in the College of Medicine.
Director of Housestaff Records: The Dean’s designee who is responsible for financial and administrative issues for residents in training programs of the College of Medicine. The Housestaff Office, located in the Dean's Office, houses the Director and administrative staff. This group works with each program coordinator and is responsible for certain records, including verification of visas and certificates, stipends and benefits.
Program Director: Qualified faculty member who is designated with authority and accountability for the operation of the residency or fellowship program.
Program Coordinator: the individual who works with the Program Director in
administering the program.
Graduate Medical Education Committee: a standing
committee of the College of Medicine which, along with the DIO, has the
authority and responsibility for the oversight and administration of the
Sponsoring Institution's ACGME-accredited programs and responsibility for
assuring compliance with ACGME requirements.
Designated Institutional Official: the person who, along with the
GME Committee, has the authority
and responsibility for the oversight and administration of the Sponsoring
Institution's ACGME-accredited programs and is responsible for assuring
compliance with ACGME requirements. The Associate Dean for GME serves this role in the College of Medicine.
More definitions about graduate medical education can be found on the ACGME website at http://www.acgme.org/acWebsite/about/ab_ACGMEglossary.pdf
Educational Administration
1.110 Institutional and Program Agreements for Educational Activities
Resident Support/Conditions for Employment
Resident Supervision/Work Environment
ACGME Standards on Resident Duty Hours
Date this page was last edited 03/13/08