Cardiology, Pulmonary/Critical Care Fellowship Programs Receive Accreditation Renewal from ACGME

Dr. Fouty

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) recently renewed accreditation of both the University of South Alabama’s cardiology fellowship program and the pulmonary diseases and critical care fellowship program for the maximum five-year cycle.

The review committee commended the programs for their demonstrated substantial compliance with the ACGME's requirements for graduate medical education without citations.

Dr. Brian Fouty, associate professor of internal medicine and pharmacology at the USA College of Medicine and program director for the pulmonary diseases and critical care fellowship program, said the five-year renewal signifies that all components of a successful critical care program are in place. “The accreditation renewal is definitely an indicator that the program is in good shape,” he said. “We are doing very well in the areas of training and research.”

The pulmonary diseases and critical care combined fellowship program was established in 2008. Since then, the program has had a total of four graduates. “This accreditation is great because it gives us even more confidence to train pulmonary critical care fellows as physicians and clinicians, and it shows that we can support the fellows adequately.”

Dr. Omar

Dr. Bassam Omar, associate professor of internal medicine at the USA College of Medicine and program director for the cardiology fellowship program, also said satisfying the ACGME’s requirements is an important recognition. “The longer the accreditation, the happier they are with the outcome of our program,” Dr. Omar said. “In addition, it turns out to be a better outcome for our fellows because they are receiving the proper education and training.”

According to Dr. Omar, the cardiology fellowship program currently has six fellows on board. The program has had a total of 33 graduates since 1987.