ACGME statement on IOM resident duty hour report
ACGME to convene duty hour conference in March

CHICAGO, Dec 2, 2008 – In 2003, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education implemented common duty hour standards for the more than 100,000 residents in approximately 8,500 ACGME-accredited residency programs in 127 specialties and subspecialties. The standards were created to optimize resident learning, resident well-being, and patient safety. Over the past five years, the ACGME has aggressively enforced the standards and monitored compliance through site visits, review of program data, confidential resident surveys, and interviews with residents.  Detailed aggregate data on compliance and enforcement of the duty hour standards can be viewed at www.acgme.org/acWebsite/dutyhours/dh_index.asp.

The ACGME is appreciative of the work done by the Institute of Medicine to study the impact of the common duty hour standards on resident learning, resident well-being, and patient safety. In early March 2009, the ACGME is convening a duty hour conference that will bring together leaders in graduate medical education from around the world. The conference participants will carefully review the IOM report as part of discussions on possible refinements to the duty hour standards.

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The ACGME is a private, non-profit council that accredits approximately 8,500 residency programs in 127 specialties and subspecialties educating 108,000 residents. Its mission is to improve health care by assessing and advancing the quality of resident physicians’ education through accreditation.