An Evaluation of 2014–2018 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Milestone Ratings for a Medical Specialty

• In Event: Examining Contemporary Assessment Strategies in Professions Education

Abstract

ACGME’s Next Accreditation System incorporated six physician competencies. Residency programs are required to assess milestones in these competencies semi-annually to track the clinical progression of residents. This study analyzed milestone ratings for a medical specialty in the initial four years after implementation. Among 40,718 resident-period records, patterns of milestone rating differed systematically in the first year (2014-2015) compared to subsequent years, with the overall pattern being stable since 2015-2016. For 1,311 residents who entered post-graduate year 2 in 2015 and finished training in 2018, differentiation among six competencies was modest over the course of training, all following a similar progression curve. Milestone ratings for Medical Knowledge had good predictive validity for performance on the written certification exam taken after residency.

Authors

• Yan Zhou, The American Board of Anesthesiology 

• Huaping Sun, The American Board of Anesthesiology

• Alex Macario