GNYHA recently hosted meetings with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)’s workgroup on accreditation and medically underserved areas. Comprised of both ACGME staff and external members, the workgroup has been studying ongoing national efforts to address workforce needs and exploring how accreditation influences workforce development. The ACGME’s recent formation of this workgroup signals their interest in engaging in more policy-oriented discussions on workforce (their responsibilities have traditionally been limited to the accreditation of residency training programs).
GNYHA invited health system and GME leadership from across the membership to meet with the workgroup, including NYC Health + Hospitals, Montefiore Health System, and Rochester Regional Health, which provided institutional perspectives on recruitment and retention challenges, and the resulting impact on the communities their institutions serve. A second meeting focused on workforce development and included participation from other health care associations and the University at Albany’s Center for Health Workforce Studies. Participants in both meetings collectively discussed difficulties in getting physicians to practice in rural and underserved parts of the country, and strategies for building capacity within the pipeline by focusing on accreditation’s specific roles in both those areas.
The ACGME’s workgroup is collecting feedback from similar meetings held in other states and will make recommendations to its Board of Directors in early 2019. GNYHA will keep members apprised as these discussions and activities continue.