Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine
©2024 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Page 51 of 59
VI.B.5. Programs, in partnership with their Sponsoring Institutions, must
provide a professional, equitable, respectful, and civil environment
that is psychologically safe and that is free from discrimination,
sexual and other forms of harassment, mistreatment, abuse, or
coercion of students, fellows, faculty, and staff.
(Core)
Background and Intent: Psychological safety is defined as an environment of trust and
respect that allows individuals to feel able to ask for help, admit mistakes, raise
concerns, suggest ideas, and challenge ways of working and the ideas of others on the
team, including the ideas of those in authority, without fear of humiliation, and the
knowledge that mistakes will be handled justly and fairly.
The ACGME is unable to adjudicate disputes between individuals, including residents,
faculty members, and staff members. However, information that suggests a pattern of
behavior that violates the requirement above will trigger a careful review and, if
deemed appropriate, action by the Review Committee and/or ACGME, in accordance
with ACGME Policies and Procedures.
VI.B.6. Programs, in partnership with their Sponsoring Institutions, should
have a process for education of fellows and faculty regarding
unprofessional behavior and a confidential process for reporting,
investigating, and addressing such concerns.
(Core)
VI.C. Well-Being
Psychological, emotional, and physical well-being are critical in the
development of the competent, caring, and resilient physician and require
proactive attention to life inside and outside of medicine. Well-being
requires that physicians retain the joy in medicine while managing their own
real-life stresses. Self-care and responsibility to support other members of
the health care team are important components of professionalism; they are
also skills that must be modeled, learned, and nurtured in the context of
other aspects of fellowship training.
Fellows and faculty members are at risk for burnout and depression.
Programs, in partnership with their Sponsoring Institutions, have the same
responsibility to address well-being as other aspects of resident
competence. Physicians and all members of the health care team share
responsibility for the well-being of each other. A positive culture in a clinical
learning environment models constructive behaviors, and prepares fellows
with the skills and attitudes needed to thrive throughout their careers.
VI.C.1. The responsibility of the program, in partnership with the Sponsoring
Institution, must include:
VI.C.1.a) attention to scheduling, work intensity, and work compression
that impacts fellow well-being;
(Core)
VI.C.1.b) evaluating workplace safety data and addressing the safety of
fellows and faculty members;
(Core)