The program director must comply with the criteria for resident eligibility as specified in the Institutional Requirements. (Core)
III.A.1. Eligibility Requirements – Residency Programs
III.A.1.a) All prerequisite post-graduate clinical education required for initial entry or transfer into ACGME-accredited residency programs must be completed in ACGME-accredited residency programs, or in Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC)- accredited or College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC)- accredited residency programs located in Canada. Residency programs must receive verification of each applicant's level of competency in the required clinical field using ACGME or CanMEDS Milestones assessments from the prior training program. (Core)
III.A.1.b)A physician who has completed a residency program that was not accredited by ACGME, RCPSC, or CFPC may enter an ACGME- accredited residency program in the same specialty at the PGY-1 level and, at the discretion of the program director at the ACGME- accredited program may be advanced to the PGY-2 level based on ACGME Milestones assessments at the ACGME-accredited program. This provision applies only to entry into residency in those specialties for which an initial clinical year is not required for entry. (Core)
III.A.1.c)A Review Committee may grant the exception to the eligibility requirements specified in Section III.A.2.b) for residency programs that require completion of a prerequisite residency program prior to admission. (Core)
III.A.1.d) Review Committees will grant no other exceptions to these eligibility requirements for residency education. (Core)
III.A.2. Eligibility Requirements – Fellowship Programs
All required clinical education for entry into ACGME-accredited fellowship programs must be completed in an ACGME-accredited residency program, or in an RCPSC-accredited or CFPC- accredited residency program located in Canada. (Core)
III.A.2.a)Fellowship programs must receive verification of each entering fellow's level of competency in the required field using ACGME or CanMEDS Milestones assessments from the core residency program. (Core)
III.A.2.b) Fellow Eligibility Exception
A Review Committee may grant the following exception to the fellowship eligibility requirements:
An ACGME-accredited fellowship program may accept an exceptionally qualified applicant**, who does not satisfy the eligibility requirements listed in Sections III.A.2. and III.A.2.a), but who does meet all of the following additional qualifications and conditions: (Core)
III.A.2.b).(1) Assessment by the program director and fellowship selection committee of the applicant's suitability to enter the program, based on prior training and review of the summative evaluations of training in the core specialty; and (Core)
III.A.2.b).(2) Review and approval of the applicant's exceptional qualifications by the GMEC or a subcommittee of the GMEC; and (Core)
III.A.2.b).(3) Satisfactory completion of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Steps 1, 2, and, if the applicant is eligible, 3, and; (Core)
III.A.2.b).(4)For an international graduate, verification of Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) certification; and, (Core)
III.A.2.b).(5) Applicants accepted by this exception must complete fellowship Milestones evaluation (for the purposes of establishment of baseline performance by the Clinical Competency Committee), conducted by the receiving fellowship program within six weeks of matriculation. This evaluation may be waived for an applicant who has completed an ACGME International-accredited residency based on the applicant's Milestones evaluation conducted at the conclusion of the residency program. (Core)
III.A.2.b).(5).(a) If the trainee does not meet the expected level of Milestones competency following entry into the fellowship program, the trainee must undergo a period of remediation, overseen by the Clinical Competency Committee and monitored by the GMEC or a subcommittee of the GMEC. This period of remediation must not count toward time in fellowship training. (Core)
[Each Review Committee will decide no later than December 31, 2013 whether the exception specified above will be permitted. If the Review Committee will not allow this exception, the program requirements will include the following statement]:
III.A.2.c) The Review Committee for does not allow exceptions to the Eligibility Requirements for Fellowship Programs in Section III.A.2. (Core)
* An exceptionally qualified applicant has (1) completed a non- ACGME-accredited residency program in the core specialty, and (2) demonstrated clinical excellence, in comparison to peers, throughout training. Additional evidence of exceptional qualifications is required, which may include one of the following: (a) participation in additional clinical or research training in the specialty or subspecialty; (b) demonstrated scholarship in the specialty or subspecialty; (c) demonstrated leadership during or after residency training; (d) completion of an ACGME- International-accredited residency program.