Annual Educational Conference

ACGME President and CEO Dr. Nasca kicked off his Saturday morning session at the Annual Educational Conference with some “non-rhetorical” questions: Can anyone predict what the health care system will look like in 2035? Can anyone predict how long your residents will practice? 40 years?

After stumping the room, he went on to explain that it is our job is to prepare residents to practice in the future—not to arm them with practices, skills, and knowledge of the present. We want our residents to be prepared not just for 2018 but for 2035—and beyond.

Each year, the Annual Educational Conference is the venue for great community gathering, information and idea sharing, networking, inspiration, and more. It’s also where we celebrate the ACGME – and now ACGME International – awardees.

For the first time since 2012, the ACGME today presented the John C. Gienapp Distinguished Service Award to Timothy C. Flynn, MD, FACS. The award is named for Dr. John Gienapp, who was the ACGME’s Executive Director for 19 years. Dr. Gienapp made several important contributions to GME and ACGME accreditation, and when he retired this award was established in his honor to recognize those who, like himself, dedicated themselves to a career in graduate medical education and made outstanding contributions to residency education and ACGME activities in a variety of ways.

For the third year in a row, the Annual Educational Conference is featuring three theme-focused sessions following the Welcome and CEO Address on Friday morning. This year’s conference theme, Engaging Each Other: Transformation through Collaboration, encompasses an array of applications in health care and GME. These three sessions speak to that range, underscoring central issues facing physicians at all levels of experience.

We’re at the mid-way point in the five-year transition to a single GME accreditation system—and this is our third pre-conference for osteopathic residency and fellowship programs. A lot has happened in the last few years, and we’re proud of our expanding family—not just on the program side, but also on the accreditation and governance side.

On behalf of the ACGME, we welcome those of you coming to the Annual Educational Conference from outside the US, and especially those of you attending for the first time. Below are some brief thoughts to help you navigate the conference and the program.