Still OPTI receives pre-accreditation status as ACGME institutional sponsor
Posted: July 30, 2015
July 1, 2015, marked the beginning of a five-year transition in graduate medical education (GME). Current osteopathic residency programs, accredited by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), now have until June 30, 2020, to successfully transition to the new single accreditation system for GME.
Programs that wish to continue educating interns, residents, and fellows must now apply for approval through the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Each applying program must have a sponsoring institution already accredited or pre-accredited through the ACGME.
On July 2, 2015, Still OPTI submitted its application and was immediately recognized by the ACGME as a sponsoring institution in pre-accreditation status. Pre-accreditation is a distinction created by the ACGME to help osteopathic programs and institutions transition effectively by 2020.
Pre-accreditation for programs allows its graduates to be deemed eligible for advanced training in ACGME-accredited programs under the eligibility standards in their specific chosen specialty/subspecialty that were in place on June 30, 2013.
An institution must be in pre-accreditation status for its current AOA programs to apply for the same. Still OPTI’s action on July 2, and the ACGME’s acknowledgement of the institution’s pre-accreditation status, opened the door for Still OPTI participating sites to submit applications for each of their training programs.
Still OPTI is a consortium for graduate medical education that includes ATSU’s Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-KCOM) and School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona in its membership, as well as teaching hospitals and community health centers across the nation. Currently, Still OPTI is the academic sponsor for 30 programs through the AOA.
Still OPTI will continue providing accreditation assistance to these programs until they have transitioned to the single accreditation system. With leadership from Karen Snider, DO, assistant dean of osteopathic principles and practice integration (ATSU-KCOM), Still OPTI added to its list of member services accreditation assistance in osteopathic principles and practice and osteopathic manipulative techniques for programs applying for osteopathic recognition through the ACGME.
Stay up-to-date with Still OPTI, its members, and all things graduate medical education by visiting stillopti.com.