Incorporating the ACGME Educational Competencies Into Morbidity and Mortality Review Conferences

BACKGROUND: The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) mandates that residents be trained in six core educational competencies. Practice-based learning and improvement (PBLI), one of the six competencies, is defined as the investigation and evaluation of one's own patient care. Morbidity and Mortality Conference, a frequently used venue to review the clinical outcome of hospitalized patients, provides the opportunity to teach and assess PBLI. DESCRIPTION: We report an approach to Morbidity and Mortality Conference that includes a systematic analysis of the ACGME core competencies and their application to a clinical case, a regular review of the factors that defines high-quality patient care, and a focused discussion of the PBLI competency. EVALUATION: Preliminary data indicate that our residents preferred this revised method for conducting Morbidity and Mortality Conference. CONCLUSION: Our adaptation to Morbidity and Mortality Conference provides a systematic review of the core competencies and their relevance to clinical decision making, with the ultimate goal of improving patient care.