Residency Review Committee for Family Medicine: an analysis of program citations.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The Residency Review Committee for Family Medicine (RRC-FM) is responsible for the accreditation of the nation's 474 residencies in family medicine. This analysis of RRC-FM actions was done to help residency directors and faculty better understand its operations and to provide a context for interpretation of its decisions. METHODS All actions by the RRC-FM for the calendar year 2002 were reviewed and analyzed by program administrative format, accreditation actions, cycle length, and types of citations listed. RESULTS Of the 117 core program reviews conducted, the most common programs were community-based residencies with medical school affiliations. A total of 772 citations were issued, for an average of 6.6 citations per program. The average cycle length for reaccreditation was 3.5 years. No statistically significant (P<.05) variations in citation type, frequency, or cycle length by program type were demonstrated. Maternity care, family medicine center patient encounters, and gynecology curricula were the most common areas of noncompliance citations. CONCLUSIONS Family medicine educators can use this information as benchmarks for program comparisons and to help identify areas for priority attention on both a local and a national basis. The effects of resident duty hours limitations and the implementation of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Competencies are yet to be determined.