Development of the Family Medicine Milestones

Abstract

In the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Next Accreditation System (NAS), evaluation of performance on educational Milestones will be used for resident assessment and feedback and will also serve as an indicator of the educational effectiveness of family medicine residency programs. The Family Medicine Milestone Committee developed the Milestones for family medicine with the goal of characterizing the breadth, depth, and integrative functions of the specialty in an understandable and manageable context for both residents and faculty. In developing the Milestones, the committee attempted to minimize duplication across competencies and sought to highlight family physicians' relationships with their patients by integrating the biopsychosocial model, population, and community health and by working in health care teams. The committee also felt it was important to emphasize the fact that family physicians must have the skills to deal with the complexity of patients and the health care system, as well as demonstrate the thinking skills critical to managing both the complexity and often the uncertainty over the course of an illness and over a patient's lifespan, particularly for chronic disease.