General Overview
The accreditation process for thoracic surgery residency programs in graduate medical education has evolved through several mechanisms in little more than a half-century; however, the essential purpose of accreditation has not changed, and that is to enhance the quality of graduate medical education. As standards are modified to reflect additional information, scientific discoveries, and the use of new technology, the quality of education will be improved. The accreditation process not only assists institutions and programs in meeting those standards, but also identifies those institutions and programs to the public.
It should be noted that the accreditation process is distinct from the certification process conducted by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. Qualified residency programs are accredited to offer graduate medical education; individuals who meet certain educational standards are certified by the American Board.
The Residency Review Committee for Thoracic Surgery is composed of representatives from three national professional organizations which are concerned with and involved in graduate medical education: the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, the AMA Council on Medical Education, and the American College of Surgeons. The RRC for Thoracic Surgery meets twice annually. The current fee for the accreditation process is $5,150: $2,500 for the application and $2,650 for the site visit by a field representative.
The primary functions of the RRC for Thoracic Surgery are to:
- propose Special Requirements for thoracic surgery and subsequently to propose revisions to those Special Requirements to improve the accreditation process;
- review thoracic surgery residency programs to determine whether they are in substantial compliance with the General Requirements and with the Special Requirements, and to determine an accreditation status for each program; and
- recommend to the ACGME improvements in accreditation policies and procedures.
The accreditation process essentially consists of four steps:
- Notification of proposed site visit and program self-study
The director of a residency program prepares a comprehensive description of the program using program information forms which are prepared for this purpose by each RRC. The completed forms may serve as an application for a new program or for review of an ongoing program by the site visitor prior to his/her visit. - The site visit
A site visit of the program is conducted by either a member of the Field Staff of the ACGME or by a specialist from the specialty. The Field Staff currently consists of 15 individuals, 10 of whom are physicians and the remaining 5 Ph.D. educators. These individuals are knowledgeable of the program requirements of all the specialty and subspecialty areas. The site visitor's primary responsibility is to verify the information which has been provided by the program director. The site visitor also conducts in-depth interviews with administrators, faculty and residents in order to report accurately on the various aspects of the educational program. It should be emphasized that the site visitor does not make recommendations for accreditation and does not participate in the final accreditation decision by the RRC. - Program review
The RRC reviews the program information forms and the site visitor's report in determining whether the residency program is in substantial compliance with the "Essentials of Accredited Residencies." - Accreditation
The RRC determines the accreditation status of the residency program and identifies specific areas of non-compliance with the published educational standards.
