Expectations of Family Medicine Residency Graduates

Having been trained to meet the six Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) competencies, family medicine residency graduates shall demonstrate the ability to practice the specialty of family medicine with independence and competence, by being prepared to provide continuing, comprehensive and personal care within the context of family and the needs of the community. This document has been written for consideration by family medicine residency training programs as they prepare family physicians.

Family medicine residency graduates shall:

1. Be physician scholars who care for the patient, family, and a diverse community; create and integrate new knowledge into practice; and educate future generations of physicians to serve the public. 
2. Demonstrate excellence in delivery of safe, equitable, affordable, quality care; and the health of the populations they serve by utilizing a bio-psychosocial model to provide evidence-based socially- and culturally-competent, comprehensive care and preventive services to patients and communities.
3. Provide patient care that is compassionate, appropriate, and effective for the treatment of health problems and the promotion of health across multiple care environments, including the home, office, acute care hospital and long-term care facilities.
4.  Be proficient in providing comprehensive, longitudinal medical and mental health care through the continuum of life, including maternity and newborn care through geriatrics and end-of-life care and across all domains that reflect the breadth and depth of family medicine.
5.  Provide preventive care that improves wellness, modifies risk factors for illness and injury, and detects illness in early, treatable stages and care that speeds recovery from illness and improves function.
6. Demonstrate continuous commitment to professionalism.
   
7. Utilize a systematic analysis of one's practice and review of the literature to make adjustments that improve patient outcomes, quality of care, and safety. 
8. Lead and participate in interdisciplinary care teams while facilitating continuous learning and quality improvement for the healthcare team and serving as a patient advocate. 
9. Achieve and maintain certification in family medicine through information mastery and life-long practice-based learning.
10. Develop trust and effectively communicate with the patient, family and healthcare team in a collaborative fashion about the diagnosis, evaluation and management of medical conditions.
11. Perform a needs assessment to determine the most appropriate role in each care setting based on the relationship with the patient, their need for services and the needs of their respective communities.
    
12. Possess the technical skill, knowledge and experience to perform clinical procedures within the scope of family medicine that reflect the graduate's training and experience as well as the needs of the community.
13. Appropriately recognize the need for consultation when indicated, and comanage the patients when applicable.
14. Advocate for patients, families and communities to optimize health care equity and minimize health outcome disparities. 
15. Recognize and eliminate  gaps in the health of patients and patient panels according to appropriate population driven guidelines.
16. Integrate available technologies to improve patient care.
17. Demonstrate knowledge and experience with understanding of public health issues in their communities, and coordinate care with community health agencies to improve the health of their patients and community.
18. Be capable of developing a fiscally sound practice that meets the community need utilizing the principles of the patient-centered medical home.
19. Recognize signs and symptoms of burnout in themselves, in colleagues, and in the healthcare team, and take necessary steps to improve wellness.
20. Engage in self-care to ensure psychological, emotional, and physical well-being with proactive attention to life inside and outside of medicine.
21. Recognize and support those at increased risk of self-harm and substance abuse and report them, as indicated.
22. Investigate, self-reflect, and follow-up adverse events, near misses, and unsafe conditions to improve patient safety through experiential learning by identifying causes and instituting sustainable systems-based changes to ameliorate patient safety vulnerabilities

(April Board 2009) (January 2022 COD)