2023 Annual Educational Conference Round Up

An International Perspective on the ACGME Annual Educational Conference

ACGME International (ACGME-I) joined thousands of attendees at the 2023 ACGME Annual Educational Conference, held in person for the first time in three years on 23-25 February in Nashville, Tennessee, US. During the three-day event, ACGME-I staff members reconnected with old friends and colleagues, and met new ones, in both formal learning and informal networking environments.

The first of two educational sessions presented by ACGME-I, Update on International Accreditation from the ACGME-I Team, opened with an overview of activities over the past year delivered by Executive Director Dr. Lorraine Lewis. The Chairs of the Review Committees-International, Drs. Sophia Archuleta and Salahddin Gehani, followed with detailed accounting of each committee’s activities, along with useful advice for how best to communicate concerns, details, and improvements to the Review Committees. ACGME-I President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. James Arrighi closed the session by discussing new initiatives being pursued, especially to place ACGME-I as the convenor of an increasingly cooperative and connected global GME community.

The second of the two educational sessions, Innovation and Research in International GME, discussed the importance of global collaboration in research in an increasingly interconnected world. Drs. Archuleta, Gehani, and Arrighi were joined by Dr. Halah Ibrahim in discussing the advantages of cross-border collaboration and their own experience in this area, offering advice and challenging the audience to engage with those in adjacent tables to further discuss possibilities for new collaborative efforts. Dr. Archuleta also spoke about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on GME and how it became a catalyst for innovations, such as the rapid increase in the use of telehealth.

During the Full-Day Course for program directors, Dr. Lewis co-presented an instructional session on applications, giving attendees a unique insight into the international application process in juxtaposition to the process used in the US.

Being in person after three years also meant networking in person, which was enhanced by the annual International Reception. Guests from all over the world, as well as many US-based attendees interested in global GME, gathered to chat with colleagues in a relaxing atmosphere Friday evening.

At the Awards Dinner held Thursday evening, the three ACGME International Award recipients were honored: HE Dr. Hilal Ali Al Sabti (Physician Leader Award); Dr. Kang Sim (Physician Educator Award); and Dr. Fatima Msheik El Khoury (Staff Award).

The ACGME-I staff team, alongside partners from ACGME Global Services, also spoke about global GME with many attendees in the ACGME Hub in the conference’s Exhibit Hall.

ACGME-I looks forward to the 2024 ACGME Annual Educational Conference, scheduled for 7-9 March 2024 in Orlando, Florida, US, to further dialogues begun at this recent conference and expand conversations on global GME. We look forward to seeing you in March 2024!