ACGME Opens Call for Back to Bedside Project Funding

November 1, 2021

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has announced a call for applications for a third cycle of Back to Bedside, an initiative created to support resident/fellow efforts to increase connection with patients while creating a Learning Collaborative for resident- and fellow-led research teams.

“The ACGME is pleased to offer another round of Back to Bedside funding to facilitate deeper connections between residents and fellows and their patients. The pandemic has been extremely difficult on all of health care, including residents and fellows. At its core, this initiative aims to reignite connection, creativity with colleagues, and engagement with patients, and to spark joy and meaning in the work that has been so strained during this challenging time,” said ACGME President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas J. Nasca, MD, MACP.

Back to Bedside is designed to empower residents and fellows to develop transformative and innovative projects that foster meaning and joy in work across all specialties and locations, including a mix of rural and urban programs. Since 2018, the ACGME, through Back to Bedside, has funded 63 projects aimed at improving clinical learning environments and promote behaviors that advance physicians’ and patients’ well-being by allowing physicians to focus on spending meaningful time with patients.

New this year is the funding of a multi-program arm with the intent of implementing a previously successful intervention in the spirit of Back to Bedside across different education and clinical learning settings and with a larger population of residents/fellows. One multi-program project will be funded during this first iteration, overseen by a junior faculty member Project Leader, to be selected through a competitive application process. Letters of Interest are due by December 1, 2021.

The ACGME also seeks proposals for single-institution/single-program resident- and fellow-developed innovative, grassroots strategies to foster or cultivate meaning in clinical learning environments by increasing opportunities to build connections with patients and improving the physician-patient relationship. Project proposals are due February 21, 2022.

Past project topics include follow-up care after discharge, incorporating mindfulness into patient interactions, using pictures and music at the bedside, and improving physician burnout. View the full list of past projects.

To submit a proposal or Letter of Interest for either arm of the initiative, visit the Back to Bedside page on the ACGME website.