Program Requirements for July 1, 2009—Implementation Information
(click on any of the links below to quickly navigate to that section on this web page)

1. New Program Requirements Summary
2. Early Adoption of Program Requirements Information
3. Honoring Previous Commitments to Current Residents
4. Changes in Resident Complement
5. Distinct Program Numbers for Independent and Integrated Programs
6. Webinar Presentation Recording
7. Agenda Closing Deadlines
8. White Paper on Plastic Surgery Program Requirements
9. PSOL Draft of Case Mappings for Comment

1) New Program Requirements

New Program Requirements

At its June 2008 meeting, the ACGME Board of Directors approved the request for changes to the Plastic Surgery residency programs. The program requirements will be effective July 1, 2009.

Four major areas of change are included:
1.     Standardized program formats
2.     Revisions to didactic content areas
3.     Program director protected time
4.     Program coordinator institutional support

1. Standardized program formats
All independent program formats will consist of 36 months. All integrated program formats will consist of 72 months. The first group of residents affected by these requirement changes are those residents who match in Spring 2010 and begin their plastic surgery education on July 1, 2011.

To request a change in program format (i.e., change from a 2- to a 3-year independent format or from a 5- to a 6- year integrated format), follow the instructions provided on the Plastic Surgery RRC website: http://www.acgme.org/acWebsite/navPages/nav_360.asp.  


2. Revisions to didactic content areas
The revisions to the didactic content areas are available in the program requirements (http://www.acgme.org/acWebsite/RRC_360/360_prIndex.asp ). When requesting a change in program format, demonstrating the program’s plan to comply with these revised requirements is essential.


3. Program director protected time
The Program requirement I.A.1.b) addresses the new requirement for institutional support, stating:

“The sponsoring institution must provide the program director with a minimum of 15% protected time, which may take the form of direct or indirect salary support, such as release from clinical activities provided by the institution for programs with one to six residents. Programs with more than six residents shall provide the program director with a minimum of 25% protected time.” The RRC expects these changes implemented by July 1, 2009


4. Program Coordinator Support

Program requirement II.C.1 states:

There must be institutional support for a program coordinator, as follows:

• 0.5 full-time equivalent for programs with up to six residents; and,
• 1.0 full-time equivalent for programs with more than six residents

RRC expects these changes to be implemented by July 1, 2009.

“Early Adopters—Streamlined Request Process”

The RRC will hold a special meeting for programs interested in an “early adoption" of the program requirements. If your current 2-year independent or 5-year integrated program wishes to begin recruiting residents for the 3-year independent or the 6-year integrated format in 2009, respectively, beginning July 1, 2009, you must submit the following information to the ACGME Offices no later than December 10, 2008.  (Requests received after December 10, 2008 will be reviewed at the RRC’s May 2009 meeting, meaning implementation of changed format cannot occur until 2010.)  

Programs seeking “early adoption” and program seeking an increase in program length must make two requests:

1. Request to Increase Program Length (see below)
2. Request to Increase Complement (made using webADS)

The following information may also be reviewed at: http://www.acgme.org/acWebsite/RRC_sharedDocs/sh_Program.asp

Guidelines to Increase Program Length

The following information must be submitted:

1. A statement describing the proposal including the proposed date of         implementation;
2. The educational rationale and the goals and objectives for each proposed         assignment for the proposed additional year;
3. A current block diagram and a proposed block diagram of a typical resident's         assignments;
4. Comment on issues identified at the last site visit;
5. A letter of support from the DIO; 
6. Institutional operative statistics and faculty CVs, if the proposal includes adding         another clinical site.

The RRC expects to receive information for the Goals & Objectives (#2 above) for each new site that will be included as part of a request to increase program length. Likewise, faculty CVs are expected for any new/additional faculty members only. 
The RRC will meet during the last week in December 2008 to review all “early adopter” requests. Programs will be notified the first week in January 2009, prior to interviewing potential residents.

Honoring Previous Commitments to Current Residents

Residents who began their plastic surgery education prior to July 1, 2010 will complete their program according to the terms and conditions of their appointment letters. The RRC neither expects nor condones lengthening resident program length after the start of an educational program.

All residents being recruited from November 1, 2008 forward must be told of the three year training requirement In Plastic Surgery, and all will be expected to complete a three year training program.

A number of institutions provide resident education in a “combined” format, where the resident enters the institution’s surgery program for three years before beginning the plastic surgery residency. The RRC understands that residents in the general surgery portion of their education at such institutions have been informed of the total years of education. In order to ensure that these residents have their previous commitments honored, the RRC is requiring all “Combined” programs provide the following information to the RRC.

• Resident Name
• PGY position (specify Surgery or Plastic Surgery)
• Expected date of graduation (from Plastic Surgery)

Exceptions to the three-year plastic surgery residency education will be considered for the individuals named. An administrative letter will be sent to the program director with the RRC decision and will be entered into the program’s history. Additionally, the RRC will inform the American Board of Plastic Surgery about the exceptions granted. The requests for exceptions will be considered at the May 2009 RRC meeting. All requests for exception must be received at the ACGME offices no later than January 1, 2009. Please send requests for exceptions to the attention, of Peggy Simpson, EdD, Executive Director for the Plastic Surgery Residency Review Committee.

Changes to Resident Complements

In addition to determining a program’s accreditation status and cycle, the RRC also determines the resident complement for each program, by PG Year. If your request for an increase in program length will include an increase in resident complement (e.g., a current complement of [3-3] is being requested to permanently increase to a [3-3-3]) programs will also need to submit a request for a change in resident complement through the Accreditation Data System. Complete requests (including DIO approval) must be received no later than the following dates:

Early Adopters Requests        December 10, 2008
May 2009 RRC Agenda           February 13, 2009
October 2009 RRC Agenda   July 30, 2009