Cardiovascular Disease
©2024 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Page 47 of 55
VI.B.5. Programs, in partnership with their Sponsoring Institutions, must
provide a professional, equitable, respectful, and civil environment
that is psychologically safe and that is free from discrimination,
sexual and other forms of harassment, mistreatment, abuse, or
coercion of students, fellows, faculty, and staff.
(Core)
Background and Intent: Psychological safety is defined as an environment of trust and
respect that allows individuals to feel able to ask for help, admit mistakes, raise
concerns, suggest ideas, and challenge ways of working and the ideas of others on the
team, including the ideas of those in authority, without fear of humiliation, and the
knowledge that mistakes will be handled justly and fairly.
VI.B.6. Programs, in partnership with their Sponsoring Institutions, should
have a process for education of fellows and faculty regarding
unprofessional behavior and a confidential process for reporting,
investigating, and addressing such concerns.
(Core)
VI.C. Well-Being
Psychological, emotional, and physical well-being are critical in the
development of the competent, caring, and resilient physician and require
proactive attention to life inside and outside of medicine. Well-being
requires that physicians retain the joy in medicine while managing their own
real-life stresses. Self-care and responsibility to support other members of
the health care team are important components of professionalism; they are
also skills that must be modeled, learned, and nurtured in the context of
other aspects of fellowship training.
Fellows and faculty members are at risk for burnout and depression.
Programs, in partnership with their Sponsoring Institutions, have the same
responsibility to address well-being as other aspects of resident
competence. Physicians and all members of the health care team share
responsibility for the well-being of each other. A positive culture in a clinical
learning environment models constructive behaviors, and prepares fellows
with the skills and attitudes needed to thrive throughout their careers.
VI.C.1. The responsibility of the program, in partnership with the Sponsoring
Institution, must include:
VI.C.1.a) attention to scheduling, work intensity, and work compression
that impacts fellow well-being;
(Core)
VI.C.1.b) evaluating workplace safety data and addressing the safety of
fellows and faculty members;
(Core)
Background and Intent: This requirement emphasizes the responsibility shared by the
Sponsoring Institution and its programs to gather information and utilize systems that
monitor and enhance fellow and faculty member safety, including physical safety. Issues
to be addressed include, but are not limited to, monitoring of workplace injuries,