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The Purpose of Accreditation

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has as its Mission Statement: The mission of the ACGME is to improve the quality of health in the United States by ensuring and improving the quality of graduate medical education experience for the physicians in training. The ACGME establishes national standards for graduate medical education by which it approves and continually assesses educational programs under its aegis. It uses the most effective methods available to evaluate the quality of graduate medical education programs. It strives to develop evaluation methods and processes that are valid, fair, open and ethical.

These elements are elaborated in the Bylaws of the ACGME, Article II, Section 2. Functions: The ACGME shall:
  1. Provide for the accreditation of programs in graduate medical education according to established standards which afford fair and equitable review of the institution and program, through the residency review process:

  2. Establish Institutional Requirements for evaluation of institutions that offer ACGME accredited graduate medical education programs:

  3. Review and, where appropriate , approve Program Requirements submitted to evaluation of graduate medical programs in that specialty by the individual Residency Review Committee ("RRCs");

  4. Recommend and where appropriate conduct studies pertinent to improving the organization and conduct of programs in graduate medical education;

  5. Review and where appropriate, approve proposals for new types of programs in graduate medical education for which accreditation is being sought;

  6. Review periodically the criteria by which programs in graduate medical education are evaluated;

  7. Provide and receive information to and from the public and governmental agencies relating to the evaluation and accreditation of programs in graduate medical education; and

  8. Initiate studies and recommend policies to keep programs in graduate medial education responsive to public and societal needs.

The accreditation process includes all measures and activities undertaken to effectively carry out the functions stipulated above and included in the Bylaws of the ACGME