Residency Training in Family Medicine: A History of Innovation and Program Support.

BACKGROUND: Residency programs have been integral to the development, expansion and progression of family medicine as a discipline. Three reports formed the foundation for graduate medical education in family medicine: Meeting the Challenge of Family Practice, The Graduate Education of Physicians, and Health is a Community Affair. In addition, the original core concepts of comprehensiveness, coordination, continuity, and patient centeredness continue to serve as the foundation for residency training in family medicine. While the Residency Review Committee for Family Medicine of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has provided the requirements for training throughout the years, key organizations including the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors, and the American Board of Family Medicine have provided resources for and supported innovation in programs. Residency Program Solutions, National Institute for Program Director Development, and Family Medicine Residency Curriculum Resource are several of the resources developed by these organizations. The future of family medicine residency training should continue the emphasis on innovation and development of resources to enhance the training of residents. Areas for further development include leadership and health care systems training that allows residents to assume leadership of multidisciplinary health care teams and increase focus on the family medicine practice population as the main unit for resident education.

Innovating within the ACGME regulatory environment is not an oxymoron.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to describe the analysis of program citations and cycle length for reaccreditation in the 14 family medicine residencies participating in the P4 project. METHODS: An exploratory narrative analysis was conducted on all actions taken by the Review Committee for Family Medicine (RC-FM) between 2003 and 2012. The analysis included cycle length and types of citations associated with accreditation actions. Several validation steps were undertaken to confirm findings reported. RESULTS: Mean cycle length for all P4 programs was 4.0 before P4 (2007) and did not change significantly during P4. The average number of citations per program before P4 was 6.2, and during P4 the average was 6.8. The P4 averages were similar to national norms during the project period. The citations that most commonly decreased during the P4 project were: Continuity of Patient Care/Inpatient, FMC Patient Population/Patient Volume, Orthopedics or Sports Medicine Curriculum, Resident Final Evaluation, Resident Workload/Duty Hours, and Resident Attrition. The citations that most commonly increased during the P4 project were FMC Patient Population/Demographics, Certifying Exam Scores, and Management of Health Systems Curriculum. CONCLUSIONS: Innovation and redesign of residency training in the P4 programs appears not to have affected the average cycle length or number of citations per program. The current regulatory environment in family medicine residency education appears to allow for innovation and experimentation.