Abdominal Transplant Surgery Fellowship Program Accreditation

As the leading Society advancing surgical care in transplantation, the American Society of Transpalnt Surgeons (ASTS) and Transplant Accreditation & Certification Council (TACC) are committed to defining and promoting training and the career-long education of transplant surgeons. The primary avenue by which TACC defines and promotes training is through accreditation of abdominal transplant surgery fellowship training programs and is the only provider of this service to the transplant community.

Fellowship Training Program Accreditation provides validation that a training program meets prescribed high standards and is a seal of approval formally recognized the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) and others. Accredited training programs serve as the primary pathway for transplant surgeon designation and associated privileges.  Regulatory bodies, third-party payers, and academic transplant centers increasingly view completion of an accredited training program as an important qualification.

The objective of a transplant surgery fellowship training program is to develop proficiency in the surgical and medical management of patients with end-stage organ diseases amenable to transplantation. Candidates for such training must have satisfactorily completed a residency which satisfies the educational requirements for certification by the American Board of Surgery or the American Board of Urology or foreign equivalency. 

Fellowship Training Programs are subject to an initial accreditation review, site visit, evaluation and approval by the Program Accreditation Committee and Transplant Accreditation & Certification Council. Subsequent program reaccreditations typically occur every three years.

Procedures

Applications are reviewed by the Program Accreditation Committee (PAC) and presented for approval by the Transplant Accreditation & Certification Council (TACC). If a program is approved for accreditation or reaccreditation, the approval is effective for the upcoming match. 

If a new program applies for accreditation, this approval is effective for the upcoming 2021 for 2022 match. This means the program must enter into the match and match a fellow to begin the following year. 

Accreditation and Reaccreditation Information

All data submitted must be from the Academic Year (July 1 - June 30). The completed application will be reviewed by the Program Accreditation Committee (Chair, Co-chair and 2 committee members). The applicant institution will be notified of the names of the reviewers and are asked to cooperate with the reviewers' requests for additional information if necessary.

If the application is from a program not previously accredited, or if the accreditation has lapsed, a site visit to the applicant institution must be arranged for the reviewers. The ASTS National Office will work with both the institution and the reviewers to organize the site visit. The applicant institution is expected to develop an itinerary that is mutually acceptable with the reviewers' goals and objectives. 

Direct expenses associated with travel to the site visit are borne by the applicant institution. The ASTS National Office will invoice the applicant institution after the site visit and payment is due after the application ruling is determined by the Transplant Accreditation & Certification Council. If the application is a renewal from an institution previously accredited, a site visit is not mandatory, and will be at the discretion of the reviewers.

The reviewers will submit a detailed report to the Transplant Accreditation & Certification Council and will  recommend whether the program meets the requirements for approval, whether additional information is necessary, or whether the application should be disapproved.

The function of the Program Accreditation Committee is one of support to the Transplant Accreditation & Certification Council and the committee will provide only recommendations. The Council holds ultimate authority in all decision-making matters.

If the program is granted approval by the Transplant Accreditation & Certification Council. The Transplant Accreditation & Certification Council will announce the decision directly to the applicant institution via letter. That communication will serve as documentation of the approval as well as the date approval was granted, the conditions under which approval is granted and the duration of the approval. 

Approval of Programs

It is not essential nor even desirable that all institutions adopt exactly the same content and structure of their programs, but it is necessary that all programs meet the essentials for approval and demonstrate that they can provide a high quality of education through the clinical experience provided to the trainee.