New Clinician Educator Milestones Provide Pathways for Professional Development and Framework for Assessment

The ACGME, in partnership with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM), and Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), is proud to share the first-ever Clinician Educator Milestones, designed to support development and improvement of teaching and learning skills across the continuum of medical education.

This new framework was developed to track key teaching and educational activities for clinician educators, educational leaders, and educational scholars. The Clinician Educator Milestones provide a developmental trajectory of knowledge, skills, and behaviors (performance descriptors) for each defined competency (Administration; Educational Theory and Practice; Well-Being; and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) in addition to Universal Pillars, which serve as a foundation for lifelong learners. The developmental trajectory can serve as a scaffold for improvement for faculty members and those responsible for faculty development efforts at institutions.

“The Clinician Educator Milestones represent one of the first instances of shared language across the medical education continuum and a professional development opportunity for individuals to assess their skills as educators in one or more specific areas,” said ACGME Vice President, Milestones Development, Laura Edgar, EdD, CAE. She noted that educators do not need to work through these Milestones in any particular order and can focus on just one or two areas. Over time, she said, they can “revisit the Milestones and think of them as a menu of options” for areas in which they want to improve.

The Clinician Educator Milestones were posted for feedback earlier this spring and build on the competency-based medical education (CBME) method to frame education and assessment around acquisition of knowledge and skills essential for health care professionals.

Importantly, while the foundational framework for their development was the Milestones for resident/fellow assessment, the Clinician Educator Milestones are not required and are not intended to become so in the future. They have no impact or influence on a Sponsoring Institution’s or program’s accreditation status with the ACGME and will not be considered by the ACGME Review Committees during accreditation review. Rather, they provide a framework for voluntary assessment of educational skills of faculty members to improve and enhance their effectiveness in certain areas of their role as educator. A Supplemental Guide is also provided, with examples, to give additional context and references for use.  

Learn more about the Clinician Educator Milestones on the ACGME website.