The AOA and ACGME are providing this statement of joint principles to help clarify for residents/fellows and programs the issues related to board certification that have arisen through the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the nation and world face the evolving COVID-19 (SARS COV2) crisis, the ACGME has granted a significant degree of flexibility to accredited Sponsoring Institutions and programs to realign their resident and fellow workforce to meet the increased clinical demands created by the pandemic. This flexibility with expectations is provided consistent with the ACGME’s commitment to patient safety and resident/fellow safety.

The ACGME invoked its Extraordinary Circumstances Policy (ACGME Policies and Procedures, Section 21.00) following the closure announcement for Ohio Valley Medical Center (OVMC), a participating site for ACGME-accredited residency programs. 

The Version 2.0 of CLER Pathways to Excellence: Expectations for an Optimal Clinical Learning Environment to Achieve Safe and High-Quality Patient Care, has been published.

The ACGME welcomes the publication of the two iCOMPARE papers in the New England Journal of Medicine. 

These new requirements that all accredited US residency and fellowship programs follow in preparing today's physicians for practice reinforce a culture of patient safety and physician well-being by focusing on patient-centered, team-based care.