Redesigning a resident program evaluation to strengthen the Canadian residency education accreditation system.

Accreditation is an essential tool to ensure quality postgraduate medical education (PGME) in Canada (also known as residency or graduate medical education in the United States). Residents participate in the accreditation process of residency training programs in Canada primarily through three steps: completing a resident program evaluation (RPE), meeting with the surveyors during on-site visits, and participating as members of the surveyor team.The author first provides a brief description of the current state of the Canadian PGME system, examining how it connects to the existing accreditation system for residency training programs. The article describes the process that was undertaken to develop and implement a new set of RPEs informed by medical education principles, as well as the development of a new information package about the accreditation process for residents.Through a multistage, consultative and iterative process, a draft RPE was developed and reviewed by various groups and was eventually implemented at a full on-site survey. At each stage, the feedback was used to further refine and revise the RPE before moving to a subsequent stage. These consultations were to ensure both face and content validity of the tools.This new RPE is one component of a new accreditation survey package that will be used to determine the residents' perspectives on their training program and to educate them on the importance of accreditation in ensuring quality PGME.