Invited Article: Residency Review Committee for Neurology

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There are 28 Residency Review Committees within the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) that accredit all medical specialty training programs. The RRC for Neurology evaluates training programs in adult and child neurology as well as subspecialty programs such as clinical neurophysiology and vascular neurology. The rules and regulations surrounding residency training in neurology have become more demanding, especially as they relate to resident work hours. This makes the job of the residency program faculty more difficult. As the current Chair (R.K.) and past-Chair (M.V.J.) of the RRC for neurology, we were asked to provide an inside perspective on how the group is organized and operates, as well as more practical information about how the committee interprets the regulations. We are glad to pass along what we have learned because we believe that better communication will improve resident education and lessen stress on faculty. We have tried to distill our combined years of experience on the committee to provide practical information that might be especially helpful to Program Directors. However, we must emphasize that the following thoughts are ours alone and not the official position of the RRC or the ACGME. The ACGME evaluates and accredits medical residency programs.1 Its mission is to improve the quality of healthcare by ensuring and improving the quality of graduate medical education experience for the physicians in training. There is an RRC for each of the 26 specialties, one for transitional-year general clinical programs, and one for institutional review. The RRC develops and approves training standards, and reviews and accredits residency programs. Accreditation is the process for determining whether or not a residency program is in substantial compliance with established educational standards. Accreditation is the responsibility of the ACGME, through its RRCs. Certification is the process for determining whether an individual physician …