Document Type

Letter to the Editor

Publication Date

7-2025

Identifier

DOI: 10.5811/westjem.48840; PMCID: PMC12342429

Abstract

This letter, signed by over 50 academic chairs of emergency medicine, urges the ACGME to reconsider a proposed mandate requiring all emergency medicine residency programs to adopt a four-year training model. The authors argue that current three-year programs are supported by data demonstrating equivalent educational and clinical outcomes compared to four-year formats. They criticize the flawed survey methodology underpinning the proposal, note the loss of milestone-based training flexibility, and highlight the lack of added scholarly or clinical value in the fourth year. The letter also outlines negative consequences for fellowship participation, workforce development, trainee debt, and diversity. The signatories advocate for maintaining the current flexible training model to preserve excellence, equity, and innovation in emergency medicine education.

Journal Title

West J Emerg Med

Volume

26

Issue

4

First Page

769

Last Page

772

MeSH Keywords

Emergency Medicine; Humans; Internship and Residency; Education, Medical, Graduate; United States

PubMed ID

40795015

Keywords

Emergency Medicine; Internship and Residency; Graduate Medical Education; United States

Comments

This is an open access article
distributed in accordance with the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY 4.0) License. See: http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by/4.0/ Publisher's Link: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/60t897jd#main

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