Core Competencies and the Next Accreditation System

Abstract

This chapter presents the principles of the accreditation of residency training programs in the United States as provided by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, the concept of general or core competencies (patient care, medical knowledge, practice-based learning and improvement, professionalism, interpersonal and communication skills, and systems-based practice), the concept of Milestones as a new, expanded, specialty-specific framework for teaching and evaluating residents, and the Next Accreditation System. The chapter offers general guidance for trainees entering graduate medical education and training in the United States with regard to understanding the next accreditation system and its basic tenets. It also provides recommendations for the implementation of these concepts in the education of international medical graduates entering residency training in the United States.