NBPAS Urges ACGME to Recognize Alternative Continuing Certification for Residency Leadership and Faculty
October 7, 2026 — The National Board of Physicians and Surgeons (NBPAS) is calling for modernization of the board certification requirements in the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)’s Common Program Requirements (Residency) and urging physicians nationwide to submit comments by October 22, 2026.
NBPAS is particularly concerned that ACGME’s proposed standards retain “current” ABMS/AOA board certification as the default requirement for residency program directors and physician faculty. This approach can exclude otherwise qualified physicians who earned initial ABMS/AOA specialty certification and hold current board certification through NBPAS. NBPAS urges ACGME to recognize qualified continuing-certification pathways beyond ABMS/AOA and remove avoidable barriers to recruiting and retaining experienced physician educators at a time of physician shortages and reduced access to care.
According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, Medicare paid about $22 billion to support graduate medical education (GME) in 2023. ACGME accreditation is required for hospitals to receive Medicare GME payments for training allopathic and osteopathic physician residents. NBPAS calls on ACGME to maintain neutrality and avoid exclusively requiring the maintenance programs sold by ABMS/AOA boards.
NBPAS urges the ACGME to explain why it continues to require participation in a private, clinically unproven maintenance program to demonstrate that a physician remains qualified to teach or lead a residency program. ACGME should identify the evidence supporting exclusive reliance on ABMS/AOA continuing-certification programs and explain why alternative continuing-certification pathways are not explicitly recognized.
“Initial board certification and continuing certification are not the same thing,” said Paul Teirstein, MD, President and Founder of NBPAS. “A physician can demonstrate continued competence through specialty-specific learning, clinical practice, peer review and other professional requirements without being required to remain in the maintenance program of the organization that initially certified them. ACGME should not continue to allow ABMS/AOA boards to exclusively determine whether a physician remains qualified.”
ACGME is also requesting comments to inform future guidance for physicians without current ABMS/AOA certification. The proposed exception does not clearly address physicians who earned initial ABMS/AOA certification and hold current board certification through NBPAS. NBPAS urges ACGME to recognize initial specialty certification together with demonstrated specialty competence and qualifications for teaching or leadership roles, as well as qualifying alternative continuing certification pathways, including NBPAS.
“These requirements affect far more than individual physicians,” Dr. Teirstein said. “ACGME accreditation determines who can participate in graduate medical education, which is supported by billions of dollars in federal funding and trains the next generation of physicians. Arbitrary guidelines lead to employment barriers and reduced access to care, harms ultimately passed to the patient.”
The proposed requirements are not yet final. NBPAS urges physicians nationwide to make their voices heard and ask ACGME to reconsider its continued reliance on “current” ABMS/AOA certification as a requirement for teaching and leadership in graduate medical education. NBPAS encourages physicians to review ACGME’s proposed requirements and submit comments by October 22, 2026.
Email info@nbpas.org for assistance with the ACGME comment process.