The route to subspecialty accreditation.
Subspecialty training accreditation is a way in which the adequacy of postresidency training can be controlled. The development of subspecialty training accreditation is the purview of the Residency Review Committees (RRCs) of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). An RRC develops the Special Requirements and the Justification/Impact statement for the subspecialty. These documents are reviewed by all other RRCs, the parent organizations of the sponsoring RRC, and the ACGME and other interested groups. When all suggestions from these groups are answered by the RRC, the Committee for Review of Special Requirements of the ACGME must approve the program. The final step is ACGME approval. The program will then go into effect on the date specified in the Justification/Impact statement. The procedure is complex and time-consuming. However, in the final analysis, a subspecialty program accredited in this fashion will be a solid educational experience for the trainee and should have a well-defined role in the parent institution.
Redman
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HC
Department of Radiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas 75235.
D000068:Accreditation; D004496:Education, Continuing; D011871:Radiology / Q000592:standards*; D013038:Specialization; D014481:United States