Residency Accreditation Toolkit: Program Requirements

The Common Program Requirements are a set of standards that apply to all residency or fellowship programs and are monitored by the DIO and sponsoring institution. The Common Program Requirements continue to expand and evolve to better standardize residency training across all specialties and now include standards for all aspects of residency management. The ACGME has created a Program Director's Guide to the Common Program Requirements that can be used a resource for guidance on the components of the requirements.

Specialty-specific Program Requirements are determined by the specialty’s Residency Review Committee, with ultimate approval by the ACGME. They are focused primarily on the clinical curriculum and experiences required of residents. The Program Requirements for Family Medicine can be accessed from the Family Medicine page on the ACGME website.

The Review Committee for Family Medicine provides FAQs that address some of the more confusing aspects of the requirements. It is very important for program directors to become familiar with the FAQs as well as the requirements, and to reference both documents whenever they have questions or concerns or are responding to a program citation from the ACGME.

When viewing the requirements, note that, for their purposes, 1 full month = 200 hours = 250 patient encounters. When a resident has continuity clinic it is assumed that occupies 50% of the month, so for specialty rotation requirements 1 month = 100 hours = 125 patient encounters.Also, note that, while some requirements specify time AND volume, some specify time OR volume.