Clinical Competency Committee (CCC)

The ACGME Common Program Requirements are specific about how a Clinical Competency Committee is constituted and what it has to do. The program director appoints the committee, which must include at least three members of the program faculty with at least one core faculty member, and additional members can be faculty from the same or other programs or other health professionals who have extensive contact and experience with the program's residents.

The committee has three required duties. It must review all resident evaluations at least semi-annually, determine each resident's progress on achievement of the specialty-specific Milestones, and meet before the residents' semi-annual evaluations so that it can advise the program director on each resident's progress. Note the word advise: the ACGME is explicit that final responsibility for resident evaluation and promotion decisions stays with the program director, so the committee builds the case rather than issuing the verdict.

Communication evidence often arrives as broad comments, while procedural and knowledge-based competencies arrive with case logs, exam scores, and written evaluations. Structured simulated encounters give the learner and committee a specific behavior to discuss, a clear practice target, and a consistent way to review progress alongside other evidence.

A simulated encounter does not replace faculty judgment. It adds a transcript-linked report that the learner and committee can inspect together when they discuss progress and the next practice goal.

Programs should set access rules before practice begins, and the learner should see the same report the committee reviews. The report remains one formative source alongside workplace observation, faculty evaluations, and other evidence.