PCOM's General Surgery Residency Program Receives ACGME Approval

April 8, 2016

According to General Surgery Residency Program Director Art Sesso, the ACGME initial accreditation will greatly increase fellowship opportunities for residents.

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History is in the making! Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) recently received word that PCOM’s General Surgery Residency Program is the first osteopathic surgery program nationwide under the single accreditation system to receive initial accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). This approval is contingent upon PCOM receiving its Institutional approval this year.

“It’s a big deal,” said Joanne Jones, Executive Director of PCOM’s MEDNet and Designated Institutional Official.

Dr. Art Sesso, Department of Surgery Chair and Program Director of the General Surgery Residency Program, said, “The PCOM surgical program is the first osteopathic surgery program to receive ACGME certification. This was accomplished in under nine months and will greatly increase fellowship opportunities for our residents. This is a historic achievement and is the beginning of a new era of osteopathic surgery.” Dr. Sesso also serves as the Director of Graduate Medical Education for Surgical Services and the Medical Director of the Clinical Learning Assessment Center on the Philadelphia campus.

The General Surgery Residency Program offers a strong academic and hands-on program and provides the opportunity for its residents to perform at least 200 major surgeries each year.

About 15 percent of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) programs have applied for approval, according to Jones. Application for approval for the General Surgery Residency Program was submitted last July to a review committee. As part of the move toward a single graduate medical education (GME) accreditation system, GME programs at all osteopathic medical schools must achieve initial ACGME accreditation by June 30, 2020, after which the AOA will cease to provide accreditation.

In early 2014, the ACGME, the AOA, and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) approved an agreement to transition to a single accreditation system for GME by July 2020.