Resources and Engagement

Those interested in rural and underserved graduate medical education (GME) efforts have many opportunities to engage with and learn from the ACGME.

• Interest Groups – The ACGME holds monthly interest group sessions to connect and share information with the GME community working in rural and underserved areas. These sessions feature GME community members sharing their insights and experiences on topics relevant to rural and underserved GME. Email underserved@acgme.org for more information.

• ACGME Annual Educational Conference – Each year at the ACGME’s Annual Educational Conference, there is a session related to rural and underserved GME. There is also an in-person interest group breakfast for up to 50 people working in rural and underserved communities to connect and learn from one another. The Rural and Underserved GME team has a booth in the ACGME Hub in the Exhibit Hall. Read more about the 2026 conference and register. Once registered for the conference, email underserved@acgme.org to participate in the interest group breakfast.

• THC DIO Network – A bi-monthly Zoom community for designated institutional officials (DIOs) from ACGME-accredited Sponsoring Institutions that sponsor at least one teaching health center (THC) program was formed in collaboration with HRSA’s Teaching Health Center Technical Assistance Center. The purpose of these meetings is for THC DIOs to build relationships through authentic peer support and to create a transparent, safe space to share challenges and successful practices. Email underserved@acgme.org to learn more.

• Focus Groups – Periodically, the ACGME hosts focus groups on particular topics to gather more information about the perspectives of rural and underserved GME Sponsoring Institutions and programs. Current opportunities include:
  • Common Program Requirements Focus Groups are being held throughout the Major Revision process to better understand barriers within ACGME requirements to GME development in rural and underserved areas. Email underserved@acgme.org to be added to the invitation list.
  • Institutional Requirements Focus Groups will be held once a draft of the proposed revised Institutional Requirements is available for review and comment to identify potential barriers within the proposed Requirements to GME development in rural and underserved areas. Email underserved@acgme.org to be added to the invitation list.
• Conferences – The Director, Rural and Underserved GME presents at and attends conferences, such as the annual Rural and Health Center National GME Conference, National Association of Community Health Centers Conference, Wisconsin Collaborative for Rural GME Annual Meeting, Missouri GME Summit, Rural Medical Training Collaborative Annual Meeting, Association of American Medical Colleges Group on Resident Affairs Conference, Association of American Indian Physicians Annual Meeting, and WWAMI GME Summit Meeting. Upcoming meetings include the following:
  • February 19-21, 2026 – ACGME Annual Educational Conference in San Diego, California
  • March 16-18, 2026 – NARHC Spring Institute in Atlanta, Georgia
  • April 16-17, 2026 – Missouri GME Summit
  • May 13, 2026 – Council of Orthopaedic Residency Directors (CORD) Meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico
  • August 16-18, 2026 – NACHC Community Health Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada
  • August 31-September 2, 2026 – Rural and Health Center National GME Conference in Washington, DC

• ACGME Blog – The “Partnerships to Establish and Sustain Rural GME” series features programs, Sponsoring Institutions, and organizations with a focus on rural GME. Participants describe their rural GME experiences, partnerships, challenges they have overcome, outcomes, resources, and advice for those interested in establishing rural GME experiences. The “Pathways to Practice: Stories from Underserved in Medicine” series features current residents, fellows, and recent graduates sharing their personal journeys – from formative experiences before medical school to the realities of being in their residency and/or fellowship programs. Read the ACGME Blog. To participate in a blog series, email underserved@acgme.org. 

• Newsletter – This periodic email includes information about upcoming interest group sessions, new resources, ACGME Blog posts, partner updates, and more. Email underserved@acgme.org to join the distribution list. 

• Resource Center – The Rural and Underserved GME Resource Center in Learn at ACGME provides resources on relevant topics for current and newly developing Sponsoring Institutions and programs. New resources are added regularly, including recordings from monthly interest group sessions. Note: A free account is required to access the content in the Resource Center. Email underserved@acgme.org with other resources to share with the community.

• Publications
• Abid, Mustafa, Lori Rodefeld, Mukesh Adhikari, Benjamin Jarman, Laney McDougal, Ann P. O'Rourke, Farzad Amiri, and Emily M. Hawes. 2025. “Cultivating Rural Surgeons: An Analysis of the Current Rural Surgery Graduate Medical Education Landscape and a Roadmap to Program Creation.” Journal of Surgical Education 82(4). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsurg.2025.103446. 
• Hawes, Emily M., Brianna Lombardi, Mukesh Adhikari, Evan Galloway, Laney McDougal, Maura Biszewski, and Erin P. Fraher. 2025. “Physician Training in Rural and Health Center Settings More Than Doubled, 2008-24.” HealthAffairs 44(5). https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2024.01297. 
• McDougal, Laney, Paul Foster Johnson, Lynne Kirk, and Kevin B. Weiss. 2023. “The ACGME Framework for Medically Underserved Areas and Populations and Graduate Medical Education.” Journal of Graduate Medical Education 15(2): 272-275. https://doi.org/10.4300/JGME-D-23-00119.1. 
• McDougal, Laney and Lorenzo Pence. 2025. “ACGME Rural Track Program Designation Project.” In Addressing Training Site and Slot Shortages across the Health Professions: Abstract Book, 22. Washington, DC: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.