The ACGME and the Resident Survey

By: Julie McCoy March 27th, 2009

The ACGME Resident Survey is quite a powerful tool that can greatly affect results of your site visit.

For example, at our Residency Program Management Workshop, a coordinator shared the following story: A resident indicated on the Resident Survey that he did not have access to technology/internet 24 hours/day. The ACGME honed in on this, and mentioned it in the accreditation decision letter. Of course, the program director and coordinator were stunned and puzzled, and immediately set out to find out why a resident would answer this way.

It turns out that one day, the entire hospital lost power for a few hours, during which the resident (or anyone else) could not use a computer or access the internet. That’s why the resident said he did not have around-the-clock access to technology. The program director eventually cleared this up with the ACGME and all was well.

Although program directors and coordinators cannot coach or tell residents how to respond to questions on the survey, they can help them understand the survey questions and how the ACGME uses the survey. Preparing residents to take the survey is now more important than ever because it is now required annually.

At the 2009 ACGME Educational Conference, Ingrid Philibert, PhD, MBA, John Coyle, MD, and Diane Hartman, MD, described how the ACGME uses the survey during their presentation entitled, “The Accreditation Site Visit: An In-Depth Look at the Multiple Elements and a Vision of Things to Come.”

The presenters said Resident Survey data is used to:

Help site visitors determine what questions to ask residents and faculty during their interviews
Support other information in the PIF and given by the program director during his or her interview
Compare results to data provided by the program and institution regarding duty hours

The good news is, that the ACGME also said that they get feedback on which Resident Survey questions are confusing during faculty and resident interviews. They take that information back to the ACGME, and they try to make questions more clear.

How do you help residents understand what the ACGME is asking on the survey? How do you use the survey results to make program improvments or prepare for the site visit?

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