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BY-NC-ND 4.0 license Open Access Published by De Gruyter March 1, 2013

A Single, Unified Graduate Medical Education Accreditation System

  • Carl Hoegerl

To the Editor:

In October 2012, the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) announced an agreement with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine to “pursue a single, unified accreditation system for graduate medical education programs in the United States beginning in July 2015.”1 Although I think that this change is necessary, I would like to voice some of my concerns for consideration as this process moves forward.

The biggest concern that I have is that we cannot lose our identity as a profession. Although it may benefit the osteopathic medical profession to have a unified accreditation system for residency programs, I think it is vital and crucial that we maintain our board certification process. We are osteopathic physicians who have a unique philosophy and skill—osteopathic manipulative treatment. We should not lose that identity; it is part of what makes us unique.

If we have a unified accreditation system for residency training, what is the incentive to take the osteopathic board certification examinations? Although I see the necessity of having the unified accreditation system, we still need to maintain our uniqueness as a profession. If we don't maintain our boards or even require osteopathic physicians to take our boards, I fear we will lose our identity. If we give up the right to police ourselves, where will this madness stop?

I ask that the leadership of the AOA strongly consider these concerns as we move ahead. Requiring osteopathic physicians to take osteopathic certification examinations is crucial to maintaining the language, culture, and ultimately the identity of our profession.

Reference

1 MDs and DOs moving toward a single, unified accreditation system for graduate medical education [news release]. Chicago, IL: American Osteopathic Association; 1024, 2012. http://www.osteopathic.org/inside-aoa/news-and-publications/media-center/2012-news-releases/Pages/10-24-MDs-and-DOs-moving-toward-single-accreditation-system-for-graduate-medical-education.aspx. Accessed February 5, 2013.Search in Google Scholar

Published Online: 2013-03-01
Published in Print: 2013-03-01

© 2013 The American Osteopathic Association

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Downloaded on 29.3.2024 from https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.7556/jaoa.2013.113.3.200/html
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