ACCME’s “Accreditation with Commendation” A Great Honor Reflecting One of ACG’s Greatest Strengths: Education
One of the great strengths of the College is our commitment to excellent educational programs for clinical gastroenterologists. I am unbelievably proud to report that in recognition for the excellence of its educational enterprise, the College has once again received “Accreditation with Commendation” from the ACCME.
This designation extends for another six years the College’s ability to provide CME for its educational courses. 
This commendation represents the highest echelon of accreditation, reserved for organizations such as ACG which demonstrate consistent dedication to the optimal standards of planning and executing programs that meet the needs of their physician learners in an increasingly complex clinical environment.
This designation is a great honor, but, honestly, it does not surprise me. It’s a well-deserved laurel for our CME efforts whose high caliber is the byproduct of the vision, hard work and leadership of the ACG Educational Affairs Committee and the many, many ACG members who serve as faculty, abstract reviewers and program planners.
I would be remiss if I did not recognize recent Chairs of Educational Affairs, Jonathan Leighton (2010-2013) and John Saltzman (2013-2016). Their capable leadership at the helm of one of the College’s hardest working committees is responsible in large part for this commendation. Thank you both.
My Perspective from the Frontlines of ACG’s Recent Educational Programs
Since the Annual Scientific Meeting, I have had the honor to represent the College in a couple of educational courses.
First, Gary Lichtenstein and I participated in the National Seminar of Gastroenterology in Querétaro Mexico. This was the annual meeting of Asociación Mexicana de Gastroenterología which is the most recent addition to ACG’s roster of international affiliate GI societies joining other organizations from Brazil, Italy and Japan. Reaching out to our international colleagues is an important goal for the college. ACG’s leadership certainly believes our Annual Meeting in Las Vegas in October 2016 will continue the trend of increasing international engagement in ACG programs.
Even more important will be our 2017 meeting in Orlando, during which the College will co-host the World Congress of Gastroenterology in collaboration with the World Gastroenterology Organisation. Over the next 24 months, we will continue to work with all of our international partners to ensure an outstanding and collaborative meeting.
Secondly, I attended the Southern Regional Postgraduate Course in Nashville. Brooks Cash and Whit Knapple did an outstanding job as co-course directors organizing the sessions. A truly outstanding faculty provided high level education to over 260 attendees. The weekend of education started off on Friday with a day-long Hepatitis School session organized by Mitch Shiffman and David Bernstein.
In 2014, the College empowered a Task Force to review and outline tactics to improve the relevance and impact our educational efforts. The objective was to look at all aspects of our entire educational program – from administration and organization, to content quality and integration of our global needs assessment into various College programs as well as how we evaluate input from our learners. We believe you will appreciate and enjoy the changes that will be put in place for the upcoming years!
Please consider attending one or more of our upcoming courses in 2016:
2016 ACG Governors / ASGE Best Practices Course
January 29–31, 2016
Scottsdale Resort and Conference Center Scottsdale, Arizona
Brochure2016 ACG / LGS Regional Postgraduate Course
March 4–5, 2016
Hyatt French Quarter New Orleans, Louisiana2016 ACG / FGS Annual Spring Symposium
March 18–20, 2016
Hyatt Regency Coconut Point, Bonita Springs, Florida
FlyerMidwest Regional Postgrad Course
August 26-28, 2016
Hyatt Regency Bloomington-Minneapolis, MinnesotaACG/Virginia Gastroenterological Society/ODSGNA Meeting
September 9-11, 2016 Williamsburg Lodge, Williamsburg, VA
Thank you to each of you who are dedicated to life-long learning and providing the best care possible for each and every one of our patients!
Ken
Kenneth R. DeVault, MD, FACG, ACG President