- Joined
- May 12, 2014
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Single Accreditation Updates
Public Listing of Transitioning Programs
Fellowship Eligibility
Protecting Osteopathic Graduates
The Match
Matching into advanced PGY-2 Positions
The COMLEX
The USMLE
Timelines of the Transition Period
Important ones in bold.
The single match is coming. It's the question of when, but I suspect most will make the transition by 2019/2020.
Public Listing of Transitioning Programs
- List of Programs that have applied under the Single Accreditation System (updated frequently):
- List of Programs that have applied for Osteopathic Recognition from the ACGME:
Fellowship Eligibility
- One of the driving forces behind the single accreditation change was the establishment of the Common Program Requirements by the ACGME. These requirements mandate that as of July 1, 2016, only those physicians who trained in ACGME accredited programs would be eligible for fellowship training in ACGME fellowships. This would have drastically limited the fellowship training options of osteopathic graduates.
- The single accreditation pathway will thus protect future osteopathic graduates' access to fellowship training, by ensuring that all osteopathic graduates train in programs that are accredited by the ACGME.
- The following quotes are directly from the ACGME's Single Accreditation FAQ regarding the residency requirements to seek fellowship training:
- "Some disciplines do accept AOA-approved prerequisite training as eligible for entry into ACGME-accredited fellowships. Others require that prerequisite training occur only in ACGME-accredited programs for such eligibility. Starting July 1, 2016, eligibility requirements for all fellowship positions will require completion of prerequisite training in a program accredited by the ACGME, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) or the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC). Between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2020, a resident who completes prerequisite training in an AOA-approved program with pre-accreditation status will be subject to the ACGME fellowship eligibility standards (per subspecialty) that were in effect June 30, 2013 or July 1, 2016, whichever is less restrictive."
- "Pre-accreditation status of an AOA-approved program cannot be made retroactive for residents who complete the program before it receives pre-accreditation status. Residents who complete an AOA-approved program upon completion of Academic Year 2014- 2015 will have done so before their program could achieve pre-accreditation status. Their eligibility status for ACGME-accredited fellowships will be determined by the subspecialty requirements in effect for the beginning of the fellowship program. Some Review Committees permit an exception to the 2016 eligibility requirements for prior training. Program directors should contact their specialty Review Committee staff to determine if an applicant is eligible or if the program can petition for an exception."
- The specific requirements of each specialty/subspecialty can be found here:
Protecting Osteopathic Graduates
- As of July 1, 2020, the AOA will no longer be accrediting residency programs. The AOA has put policies in place that prevent AOA residency programs who have not applied for ACGME accreditation from accepting new residency matriculants who would not graduate residency before July 1, 2020. This will protect students from matching into programs that may be unaccredited when they graduate residency.
The Match
- The allopathic match is not managed by the ACGME. Thus, the ACGME has no influence on which programs are listed in the allopathic match.
- As osteopathic residency programs achieve initial accreditation with the ACGME, they will be eligible to be listed in either matching service. Fewer and fewer programs are expected be listed in the AOA match. The AOA realizes the utility of the AOA match will decline. The AOA will encourage all programs to list with the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP, the allopathic match) once they receive initial accreditation, to expedite the transition between matches.
- A unified match benefits osteopathic students, by allowing us to apply to and rank allopathic and osteopathic programs side by side.
- There is no formal timeline for the transition between matching services. However, as previously stated, AOA programs that have not applied for ACGME accreditation can not accept residents who would not graduate by July 1, 2020. Therefore, any AOA program accepting residents out of the Class of 2018 will be eligible to be listed in the NRMP. This will likely be the endpoint of the AOA match.
- In the meantime, programs are individually responsible for transitioning between matching services once initial accreditation is achieved. This means that you should contact the programs directly to inquire which matching service they will be listed in.
Matching into advanced PGY-2 Positions
- If you're planning to match into an advanced program as a PGY-2, please review the ACGME guidelines regarding how to ensure your preliminary year will qualify.
- http://www.acgme.org/acgmeweb/Portals/0/PDFs/Nasca-Community/Eligibility_FAQs_Preliminary_Year.pdf
The COMLEX
- The COMLEX examination will continue to be the osteopathic board examination.
- Recall that the purpose of the COMLEX is not as a tool for residencies to stratify student qualifications, but rather as a set of examinations to prove to the public that graduating physicians meet a minimum standard of competency to practice medicine in the United States.
- The above statement considered, SOMA understands that board examination scores are used by residency programs to evaluate candidates. At present, 77% of ACGME programs accept COMLEX scores to satisfy their applications requirements. With the implementation of single accreditation, this percentage will rise. COMLEX will likely also be accepted by more programs who have historically not accepted it, as the visibility of DOs in the ACGME increases.
The USMLE
- All osteopathic students should evaluate on a program to program basis whether or not taking USMLE will be important. Investigate whether or not programs you are interested in require USMLE scores. If in doubt, call the programs and ask which, if any, USMLE steps you may need to take.
- If you are considering a competitive specialty, or you are completely unsure as to which specialty you will pursue, taking the USMLE and scoring well will only keep doors open to you in the future.
Timelines of the Transition Period
- Once an AOA residency program applies for ACGME accreditation, it is given pre-accreditation status if its application is deemed to be in good order.
- The ACGME will then send a team to do a site review on the program and report back to the Residency Review Committee (RRC) for that specialty.
- The ACGME must review all applications within one year and determine whether or not to award the program initial accreditation.
- This process may take only a few months, or it may take up to one year. The timelines are not clear. The application and review process is not new to the ACGME or the RRCs, but this level of application volume is new to them.
- In the 'Program Search' tab on opportunities.osteopathic.org, there is a listing of each program's responses regarding their plans for the single accreditation system. Some of these responses have not been submitted and some of the sections may be incomplete.
- The best course of action for students is still to contact the programs they are interested in applying to and asking them to clarify where they stand in the single accreditation process (i.e. working on application vs. application submitted/pre-accreditation vs. initial accreditation has been conferred).
Important ones in bold.
The single match is coming. It's the question of when, but I suspect most will make the transition by 2019/2020.