SAEM News

SAEM Achieves Provisional Accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education

August 19, 2026

The Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) is pleased to share that we have achieved Provisional Accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME®) through July 31, 2028, as a provider of continuing medical education (CME) for physicians.

This accomplishment represents an important milestone in SAEM's ongoing commitment to educational excellence and our mission to advance the specialty of academic emergency medicine through scholarship, innovation, and lifelong learning.

What This Means for Our Members

ACCME accreditation is more than an organizational achievement—it's an investment in our members and the future of academic emergency medicine. It reflects SAEM's dedication to providing high-quality educational experiences that support your professional growth and enhance the care we provide to our patients.

As an ACCME-accredited provider, SAEM is now positioned to:

  • Strengthen SAEM's leadership role in advancing academic emergency medicine through evidence-based, impactful education.
  • Build upon SAEM's strong educational foundation by developing innovative learning opportunities that meet the evolving needs of our community.
  • Continue delivering educational activities that meet nationally recognized standards for quality, independence, and effectiveness.
  • Expand access to high-quality continuing medical education that supports lifelong learning and professional development.
  • Ensure SAEM's educational offerings remain relevant, learner-centered, and responsive to the needs of academic emergency physicians.

While accreditation is a significant achievement, it is also the beginning of an exciting new chapter. In the months ahead, we will thoughtfully explore how this capability can best advance our mission, support our strategic priorities, and create additional value for SAEM members.

This accomplishment would not have been possible without the extraordinary dedication of many volunteers and staff members. I am especially grateful to the SAEM Education Team, led by Deborah Samuel, and to the CME Task Force, including Drs. Jeff Druck, Ryan LaFollette, and Nick Mohr, for their leadership, expertise, and unwavering commitment throughout the accreditation process. Their efforts have positioned SAEM for continued growth, innovation, and impact in medical education.

SAEM Supports the EM Community Through ACGME Changes

June 11, 2026

Yesterday, the ACGME announced final approval of a major revision to the Program Requirements for Graduate Medical Education in Emergency Medicine (EM). The new requirements take effect July 1, 2028, giving programs two years to review, plan, and prepare.

As the academic home of emergency medicine, SAEM is committed to helping our members understand and prepare for changes that shape residency education and the future of our workforce. 

The revision touches nearly every part of residency training. Among the most significant changes:

  • Required clinical experience in both high-resource and low-resource emergency departments
  • New patient volume and critical care minimums tied to program size
  • A restructured didactic model built on annual synchronous hours, with individual resident attendance requirements
  • Week-based curriculum minimums for critical care and pediatrics, a dedicated point-of-care ultrasound experience, and an expanded list of key index procedures
  • Faculty supervision standards based on completion of EM residency training
  • A broader emphasis woven throughout the requirements on health equity, patient-centered communication, trauma-informed care, and resident well-being

The ACGME also announced that the proposal to move all programs to a standard four-year format was not approved. The ACGME Board determined that additional data are needed and will develop a pilot initiative to gather that information. We will share updates as details become available.

These changes will reach every corner of our community. For program leaders and faculty, the revision reshapes didactic structure, site composition, and supervision standards. For residents, it changes where and how training time is spent. For students considering EM, it will shape how programs are organized and evaluated in the years ahead.

The approved requirements, in both clean and tracked-changes versions, are available on the ACGME Emergency Medicine Program Requirements page, and additional detail is provided in the full ACGME Announcement. We encourage program leaders, faculty, and residents to review them directly.

SAEM will support our community through this transition because how we prepare matters as much as what changes. In the months ahead, look for opportunities through our academies, committees, and meetings to understand the new requirements, share implementation strategies, and learn from one another.

We are grateful to the many SAEM members who contributed feedback throughout the revision process. Academic emergency medicine has always met change by leading it, and we will continue to represent and support our community as implementation moves forward.