“Demanding Although Rewarding” – The Experience of Lebanese American University and its Internal Medicine Program’s Journey Toward ACGME-I Accreditation

The internal medicine residency program at Lebanese American University (LAU) achieved ACGME International (ACGME-I) Initial Accreditation in July 2025. Its program director, Toufic Chaaban, MD, clinical assistant professor at the Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine, recently discussed the institution’s and program’s journey toward ACGME-I accreditation on the popular medical podcast series, the Lebanese Physicians’ Podcast, hosted by Khalil Diab, MD, ATSF, associate professor of medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences.

The episode, entitled “Raising the Bar: LAU Internal Medicine’s ACGME-I Designation and Its Impact on Residents,” gives an insider view on the decision to seek ACGME-I accreditation, the process toward achieving it, and the resulting benefits. You can view the episode here on YouTube.

On the decision to pursue ACGME-I accreditation, Dr. Chaaban noted that the preparations were already underway prior to his appointment as program director. “It’s important for us, as a program, to know that we are following the standards in graduate medical education [GME]” he said, adding that it lends “credibility and visibility” to the program, and “helps elevate the quality of learning and… faculty development.”

Discussing the process of pursuing accreditation, Dr. Chaaban recalled, “Although rewarding… it’s a very demanding process.” He walked through the application process for Institutional Accreditation, noting that the self-study process helped identify gaps where changes were needed – and made – prior to submitting the formal application.

Upon LAU’s achievement of Initial Institutional Accreditation, the residency programs followed up and quickly applied – and achieved Initial Accreditation as well. “At LAU, we applied for six programs and we did get accreditation for the six programs,” he said. The achievement was lauded at the time by ACGME-I Executive Director Lorraine Lewis, EdD: “To get six programs accredited at the same time shows the dedication of the LAU faculty and staff to deliver quality GME to residents.”

Dr. Chaaban continued, discussing important benefits of ACGME-I accreditation and noting that accreditation “elevated the culture of quality improvement” at their institution. He stated that the rigor of the accreditation requirements provides quality assurance for those assessing graduates for fellowships, and that it “definitely helps” in the Match process. He also said that accreditation makes the already-competitive program even more competitive, and adds a level of assurance for international applicants from the region and beyond. Importantly, Dr. Chaaban added that the new pilot pathway to certification offered by the American Board for Internal Medicine is a “game changer” for ACGME-I-accredited Sponsoring Institutions and programs. Finally, he noted that accreditation “helped to show the importance of scholarly activity for the residents and faculty [members].”

One of the most important aspects of ACGME-I accreditation, according to Dr. Chaaban, is the recognition of local context. “They know they can’t apply the same exact standards as in the US to outside the US,” he said. “The framework is kind of the same, the same competency base, the same assessment battery, the same objectives and goals… but I think it’s more able to de adapted to the local context.”

When asked whether he would recommend ACGME-I accreditation to other GME institutions and programs, he replied: “First, please do it. It might seem like it’s a dream; it’s not a dream, it’s a target that is achievable.” He also stressed the importance of buy-in from all stakeholders in the process, from leadership to hospital administration, as well as faculty members and residents.

“To be honest, ACGME-I is very helpful in the process,” he said. “They are here to help you achieve accreditation and not to test and fail you.”

Thanks to Drs. Diab and Chaaban for permission to summarize the podcast episode and for sharing graphic assets.