How do Residencies get dual accreditation

[rickh]

So here is my question. What is the process for a program to recive their accreditation and how does a program go about getting dual accredited. Here is an example. I was looking on the AOA site for residency programs. Of the Emergency Medicine programs only two are accredited by the D.O. and M.D. accrediting bodies. My question is why and what can be done to get dual accreditation in more programs. If amyone has any suggestion on ways to get the ball rolling let me know.

[RDGJD]

My personal knowledge of a dual-accredited program is the EM residency proram at Einstein Medical Center in north Philly. The programwas begun in 1980, and the dual accreditation arose out of its affiliation with two medical schools..PCOM and Temple University SOM, which is an allopathic school. So, I am not sure whether the program's dual accreditation came about purposefully or whether it was merely a consequence of its affiliation with both an osteopathic and an allopathic school. Obviously, the program includes allopathic and osteopathic residents working side-by-side, though the route (on paper at least ) they take is slightly different, i.e. for allopathic students, the residency is a four-year program, whereas the osteopathic residents complete the last three years of the residency after an AOA internship.

[Wiley Coyote]

I work in a D.O. school and I am just wondering what the attraction is to Dual programs. Can you give me a students perspective.

PS. I am not a physician but an administrator with 19 years of experience working at a D.O. school and have heard more seasoned physicians grumble that the students don't really know what they are asking/looking for when they go after ACGME accreditation. Most of the senior physicians believe that it's a waiste of time and effort for a piece of paper. I have even heard this from an attending physician who went to a dually accredited program. I'd love to know what students are thinking and what they believe additional accreditation really gains them?

[hyperbaric]

Originally Posted by Wiley Coyote

I work in a D.O. school and I am just wondering what the attraction is to Dual programs. Can you give me a students perspective.

PS. I am not a physician but an administrator with 19 years of experience working at a D.O. school and have heard more seasoned physicians grumble that the students don't really know what they are asking/looking for when they go after ACGME accreditation. Most of the senior physicians believe that it's a waiste of time and effort for a piece of paper. I have even heard this from an attending physician who went to a dually accredited program. I'd love to know what students are thinking and what they believe additional accreditation really gains them?

I am applying to ACGME programs mainly for two reasons: AOA programs are extremely variable in quality AND limited in terms of geography.

However, a dually approved program would be of interest to me for two reasons: 1) ability to practice in those 5 states requiring an AOA approved intern year and 2) should I elect to part ways with the AOA, my board certification won't be held hostage simply because my AOA dues aren't current.

And, FYI, if Rocky-Vista or any other for-profit school is approved, I will financially divorce the AOA.

[Dr JPH]

Originally Posted by Wiley Coyote

I work in a D.O. school and I am just wondering what the attraction is to Dual programs. Can you give me a students perspective.

PS. I am not a physician but an administrator with 19 years of experience working at a D.O. school and have heard more seasoned physicians grumble that the students don't really know what they are asking/looking for when they go after ACGME accreditation. Most of the senior physicians believe that it's a waiste of time and effort for a piece of paper. I have even heard this from an attending physician who went to a dually accredited program. I'd love to know what students are thinking and what they believe additional accreditation really gains them?

The biggest draw for many is the post-residency opportunities. Gaining a highly competitive Allopathic Subspecialty Fellowship may be easier coming from a dually accredited residency program than from an Osteopathic program.

[Old_Mil]

Originally Posted by rickh

So here is my question. What is the process for a program to recive their accreditation and how does a program go about getting dual accredited. Here is an example. I was looking on the AOA site for residency programs. Of the Emergency Medicine programs only two are accredited by the D.O. and M.D. accrediting bodies. My question is why and what can be done to get dual accreditation in more programs. If amyone has any suggestion on ways to get the ball rolling let me know.

First, the real question is do you want to have dual accreditation? I say no. With the direction that the AOA is heading, the fewer postgraduate training programs they contaminate, the better. Furthermore, once I take step II of the Comlex and graduate, I am going to take up yoga in an attempt to purge the last vestiges of OMM from my mind. Doing so will only make me a better ER doc.

[emeddo]

A representative of the AOA spoke to our student body and said they were interested in making any program that takes a large amount of DOs into it dually accredited. He even told us that we could contact them and the would approach the program themselves to see about making it dually accredited. Apparently there are some fees involved in doing so and he said that sometimes the AOA was willing to cover those for the program just to get more residency options out there for us.