ACOFP: OUR CONTINUING HISTORY 73 New Challenges and Opportunities SINGLE ACCREDITATION SYSTEM The Single Accreditation System (SAS) represented a significant and controversial shift in osteopathic postgraduate medical education accreditation for both DOs and MDs. It was reminiscent of the contentious California Proposition 22 passed in November 1962. That year, a simple majority of California voters allowed the amalgamation of osteopathic education and osteopathic licensure into the MD profession, thereby eliminating osteopathic medicine from the state. The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) and American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) by joining with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), an accrediting body for MD programs, to form only one accrediting body. This decision elicited a wide range of reactions, from vigorous opposition to cautious acceptance and eventual understanding among the various stakeholders in both professions. For the DOs, this included AOA members, state and national society leaders, and educators involved in both undergraduate and postgraduate osteopathic education. While the long-term implications of this move for family medicine and osteopathic education remain uncertain, the perspectives of three key individuals involved in this final decision are presented here. The authors (respectively) include a dean emeritus of a college of osteopathic medicine, a past ACOFP president, and a postgraduate medical educator. Their close involvement with the process can offer valuable insights into the history, feelings, and events surrounding the decision to move to a Single Accreditation System within the allopathic profession. The experiences and viewpoints of these three family physicians shed light on the complexities and potential outcomes of this significant change in the postgraduate clinical accreditation landscape for all practicing physicians.
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