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Revising your residency program's goals and objectives

Residency Program Connection, May 20, 2008

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There comes a time in each residency program when the residency program leadership must revise the program’s rotation goals and objectives. The ACGME mandates that your program breaks the goals and objectives down by educational level and makes them competency based.

Don’t forget to involve the residents and faculty in this revision process. You can include them by e-mailing the residents and to the preceptors responsible for each rotation the current rotation goals and objectives. When you send them the original document, be sure to include a heading for the six competencies and for each post graduate year level so the faculty and the residents can fill in the blanks. Instruct them to save these goals and objectives as a Word document, make their edits using the track changes feature, and return the revised document to the necessary individuals, who may include you, the program director, curriculum review committee, or division chief.

Next, the program director, curriculum review committee, or division chief should review the proposed changes and appropriately incorporate these edits into the original document.

Once you complete the revision, create a curriculum manual, including the following documents:

• Program goals and objectives for resident training
• Rotation goals and objectives
• Additional curriculum data
• Procedural skills information and diagrams
• Appendixes with reading lists, articles about professionalism, etc

As you assemble this curriculum manual, create an acknowledgement page at the very beginning of the document which thanks the contributors. This is one example of what the acknowledgement page can say: “A special thanks to the faculty and residents for their input in the development of this document. Their efforts are greatly appreciated.”  You should also include a list of contributors, both faculty and residents. This serves a dual purpose: It acknowledges and thanks those that helped with the project and documents for the ACGME that faculty and residents did have input into the development of the curriculum. Finally, you can distribute this document as a booklet, on a CD, or electronically.

Best,

Catherine M. Shuttle
Internal Medicine Residency Coordinator
East Tennessee State University

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