ACGME turns focus to promoting a culture of patient safety

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) is turning its attention to ways to increase patient safety in residency training.

The organization, which accredits residency and fellowship programs across the country, announced (PDF) the selection of nine institutions that will lead an 18-month patient safety collaborative. The collaborative will focus on creating and testing a framework for residents and fellows to promote a culture of safety.

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“Patient safety is a crucial component of residents’ experiential learning," said ACGME CEO Thomas J. Nasca, M.D.

It is the second phase of the accreditor’s initiative to transform the clinical learning environment. Phase one of the initiative brought together eight institutions to come up with strategies to drive change in their clinical learning environments. Leaders shared their ideas at ACGME’s Chicago offices last week.

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The patient safety collaborative is the first in a series that will focus on improving engagement of residents and fellows in six focus areas: patient safety, healthcare quality, care transitions, supervision, fatigue management (well-being) and professionalism.

The institutions chosen to participate in the patient safety collaborative are:

  • Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina
  • Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina
  • University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine 
  • Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis
  • Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York
  • St. Vincent’s East Family Medicine Residency Program in Birmingham, Alabama
  • University of Kentucky College of Medicine in Lexington
  • University of Pennsylvania Health System in Philadelphia
  • University of Connecticut School of Medicine in Farmington