If your Program loses ACGME accreditation after you Graduate

[texasresident]

Hi -

Without getting into too many details, I see that my Internal Medicine Program is going in the wrong direction. Lots of work hour violations and patient cap violations, etc. that are getting worse as the months go on. very big change from when I started; mostly the changes are due to financial pressure placed on the hospital to admit more. I am a third year resident and will be starting a 3-year fellowship at a very strong program (in another state) next year.

So if I finish out this year, and then in the next year or two, or even 3-4 years, the ACGME shuts down the program, where does that leave me? I wil have graduated while it was still accredited. But where does it leave you if you did a residency at a place that is no longer "valid?"

Some of my friends were talking about how the ACGME cites programs first, imposes heavy fines, etc. How does this process really work?
I know some famous places like Hopkins and maybe Columbia were cited, simply paid a $20 million dollar fine and re-organized the hours a bit, and were fine. My program is not that prestigious, though, and if the ACGME came down on them I'm not sure they could recover.

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[Bertelman]

1) SO which program in TX??? Come on, you clearly wanted us to know you are in TX, so why not just say where?

2) Programs don't just lose their accreditation, unless the citations are egregious.

3) I don't think places like Hopkins can just drop 20 mil and have the ACGME turn their backs

4) You've been approved to a fellowship- you don't need to worry. Programs don't lose accreditation because their residents suck. They lose accreditation because of the things you listed, which are entirely out of your control.

5) They will not rescind your IM residency just because a program closes its doors.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

As long as your program is accredited when you graduate, you will be fine.

Your future employers will focus on your fellowship, and mostly ignore your residency. Sad but true.

The ACGME does not impose fines. They can withdraw accreditation, but never fines programs. Hopkins did not pay any money -- they simply had to fix their problems. Fixing problems can cost money -- your program, for example, needs a non-resident admitting service to deal with the increased admissions.

Programs get cited, then get 1-2 years (or more) to fix before anything serious happens, so you will be fine.

 

[f_w]

The only problem with a program closing after you leave is that down the road you will have to provide a confirmation of your residency training to various licensing boards and credentialing committees. If your program closes, there won't be a secretary to take care of these training confirmations which can create a big hassle.
Some programs are nice and send their records to the FSMB. If you need a confirmation of training, FSMB will provide it.
http://www.fsmb.org/fcvs_closedprograms.html

But no, your residency won't loose its validity if the program looses accreditation after you graduate.

And as mentioned, programs are rarely ever closed on the spot. If a program fails a site visit, they either get an abbreviated accreditation (2 years instead of 4) or they get a probationary accreditation. If they are on probation, they have 1-2 years to fix the problems.

Now, if a program ends up on probation or closes, it does certainly hurt the 'prestige' of that program. You mention that you already have a fellowship, so in that department you don't have much to worry about as well.