General competencies and accreditation in graduate medical education

Many have recommended changing the professional development of physicians. Concluding that further educational process specification was inadequate, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) decided to specify six general competencies of graduate medical education (GME): patient care; medical knowledge; practice-based learning and improvement; professionalism; interpersonal skills and communication; and systems-based practice. Coupling them with a developmental view of professional knowledge and skill acquisition, the ACGME invited further specification and development of desired learning from the extended medical specialty community, including the specialty boards. This collaborative process offers a model of the role accrediting agencies can play in fostering workforce developmental change.