The third and final day of the 2025 ACGME Annual Educational Conference highlighted powerful messages from speakers and strong connections reinforced among attendees. Educational sessions filled out the day’s agenda, and the conference concluded with the annual “Toast on the Terrace” reception.
Educational sessions covered a range of important and topical areas, including well-being, supporting learners with disabilities, informing the undergraduate to graduate medical education (GME) continuum, GME funding, mock Review Committee meetings, cultivating physician identity, and more.
ACGME International (ACGME-I) provided its annual update session. The Chairs of the two Review Committees-International and ACGME-I staff members discussed accreditation decisions, as well as how to amplify the voices of faculty members and learners. ACGME-I leaders presented data from the current and previous academic years and shared updates on various ACGME-I initiatives launched over the past year to build community across the ACGME-I community.
In “Strategies to Enhance Inclusion of Learners with Disabilities in GME,” presenters highlighted that disability is not just a physical or mental condition but also a social, emotional, and political experience, shaped by the environment and a natural part of the human condition. While the medical model of disability often influences education, only 11 percent of learners self-disclose a disability, with half of them requiring accommodations. Additionally, many program directors are uncertain about how to respond to accommodation requests. The Disability Inclusion Resource Hub, a Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation-funded project that is a partnership between ACGME and Docs With Disabilities Initiative, offers valuable resources to support programs, and its recent launch has been met with enthusiasm.
The speakers presenting “IMG Transition to Residency: The First 90 Days” discussed various aspects of integrating international medical graduates (IMGs) into US GME by taking issues they face and sharing ways to offer this unique group of learners the support they need to succeed as residents and fellows. The audience participated by sharing their experiences, ideas, and worked through scenarios offered by the presenters.
A team from Dubai Health in the United Arab Emirates presented “Implementing a Contextual Well-Being Program in a New Academic Health Care System,” discussing how they utilized the opportunity to create a comprehensive and locally contextualized well-being program in a newly integrated academic health care system.
A Surgeon’s Fight for Health Justice
This year’s Marvin R. Dunn Keynote Address featured a presentation from Ala Stanford, MD, founder of the Black Doctors Consortium and Center for Health Equity, and professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Stanford, a pediatric surgeon, shared her incredible story of how she partnered with Black churches and other community pillars during the COVID-19 pandemic to effectively test and vaccinate more than 140,000 people in an underserved part of Philadelphia. She then opened an ambulatory center with wrap-around services in that same neighborhood. The message was clear: “We are not going to leave this community where you have given us the privilege of giving care to you.”
Following her presentation, Dr. Stanford sat down with ACGME Senior Vice President, Accreditation Nikhil Goyal, MD for a discussion that covered more about her story; her book, Take Care of Them Like My Own; and how those in GME can make strides to reduce health care disparities in their own communities.
Dr. Goyal asked Dr. Stanford how residents and fellows could get more involved in community outreach work. Her answer was surprising.
“There will be plenty of time for you to do this,” Dr. Stanford said, addressing the learners in the room. “When you are a trainee and a resident and a fellow, your focus is to complete your residency, to become the best clinician you can be so you can do all of this.”
The Science of Compassion in Medicine
In 2024, it was announced that the final plenary of the Annual Educational Conference would be renamed to recognize outgoing ACGME President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas J. Nasca, MD, MACP. This year, the inaugural Thomas J. Nasca Lecture was delivered by Stephen W. Trzeciak, MD, MPH, the Edward D. Viner Endowed Chief of Medicine at cooper Medical School of Rowan University. Dr. Trzeciak’s presentation, “The Science of Compassion in Medicine,” asked if compassion really matters in health care, and then sought to convince the audience why indeed it does.
Dr. Trzeciak emphasized that compassion in medicine is not just a sentimental ideal, but a scientifically measurable and essential component of patient care. Through research and personal stories, he highlighted how compassion impacts patient outcomes, including reducing pain, improving adherence to treatment, and fostering trust. Studies show that even brief moments of compassionate care can have profound physiological and psychological effects.
Furthermore, Dr. Trzeciak challenged the misconception that compassion leads to burnout, presenting evidence that strong relationships and a compassionate mindset actually enhance resilience. The key to sustainable health care is not avoidance or detachment but intentional, evidence-based compassion, which benefits both patients and health care practitioners. By shifting perspectives and fostering a culture of empathy—whether through medical education and training, patient interactions, or team dynamics—health care practitioners can mitigate burnout and improve overall well-being. Dr. Trzeciak concluded that compassion is not an abstract ideal but a fundamental aspect of effective medicine, urging the audience to dedicate even 40 seconds to meaningful human connection.
“The key to resilience is relationships,” he said.
Save the Date for #ACGME2026!
The conference concluded, as usual, with a celebratory toast. Attendees and ACGME staff members and leaders mingled over live music, digesting the previous three days of learning, networking, and being inspired.
The ACGME thanks all who contributed to, supported, and attended the conference. We hope to see you all next year at the 2026 Annual Educational Conference, scheduled for February 19-21 at the San Diego Convention Center and Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina in San Diego, California. Watch the ACGME website and regular communication channels for notices regarding the Calls for Sessions, Abstracts, and Exhibits/Sponsors – all coming soon!