Osteopathic postdoctoral training institutions.

Enhancements In part, OPTIs were developed in response to the changing needs for delivery of postgraduate medical education and to provide assurance that institutions are committed to and capable of delivering uniquely osteopathic postdoctoral training. The Council on Postdoctoral Training (COPT) approves internship and residency training programs in hospitals either accredited by the AOA or affiliated with such hospitals, or hospitals with postdoctoral training programs sponsored by colleges of osteopathic medicine. The method now includes accreditation of the OPTIs. Such accreditation provides the public, appropriate governmental jurisdictions, the osteopathic medical profession, and interns and residents added assurance that accredited OPTIs have met or exceeded basic established levels of quality for postdoctoral education in osteopathic medicine. The accreditation process involves systematic evaluation and peer review of all aspects of the graduate medical education process and overall effectiveness of an OPTI, as measured by the AOA-approved standards. The AOA’s Bureau of Professional Education (“Bureau”) accredits OPTIs. The OPTI’s governing body is responsible for defining the mission and objectives of the OPTI. Each OPTI must provide for instruction and training in the art, science, and practice of osteopathic medicine and contribute to the community by providing distinctive osteopathic healthcare. At a minimum, an OPTI comprises at least one hospital accredited by the AOA’s Bureau of Healthcare Facilities Accreditation and one college of osteopathic medicine accredited by the Bureau of Professional Education. Each OPTI must offer at least one internship and two residency training programs. One residency training program must be in primary care (that is, family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, or pediatrics). The minimum number of approved and funded training positions in each internship program is four. The minimum number of approved and funded training positions in each residency program is three. The COPT Subcommittee on OPTI Evaluation and Oversight was appointed in July 1999. The subcommittee is responsible for developing a program to evaluate the educational effectiveness of OPTIs. As its charge, the subcommittee functions as an evaluative body in overall global review of OPTIs as a program structure and as an accreditation mechanism. To maintain a distance from accreditation decisions pertaining to individual OPTIs, the subcommittee reports to the full COPT regarding business purposes, and to the Executive Committee of COPT for informational purposes.