Chicago, IL, June 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has selected 23 resident- and fellow-led teams to receive funding as part of the fifth cycle of Back to Bedside, an initiative developed by residents and fellows to support innovative projects that enhance the physician-patient connection and improve the clinical learning environment in graduate medical education.
Winners were selected from a record number of applicants and will present their projects after a two-year development cycle at the ACGME Annual Educational Conference in Orlando, Florida in 2028.
View the full list of newly selected Back to Bedside recipients, projects, and team leaders. With this latest cohort, more than 130 projects have been funded since Back to Bedside’s inception in 2017. This cycle’s projects focus on increasing patient connection through nutrition education and lifestyle counseling, optimizing perinatal mental health, integrating mind-body skills into psychiatric patient care, monthly community health fairs, creating ICU diaries, and more.
“Back to Bedside recognizes that residents and fellows are not only learners, but leaders with a unique perspective on how to enhance their learning environments,” said Joshua Belfer, MD, chair of the Back to Bedside Work and Advisory Group and a recipient of a Back to Bedside grant in the first cycle of funding. “By investing in their ideas and creativity, the initiative helps them strengthen connections with patients and reimagine what brings meaning and joy to clinical care.”
Representing institutions across the US, these projects emphasize direct patient interaction and measurable outcomes. Their shared goal is to enhance the clinical learning environment by fostering stronger physician-patient relationships and supporting the well-being of both.
In 2017, the ACGME’s Council of Review Committee Residents created Back to Bedside to address burnout by increasing meaning in medicine through more purposeful engagement with patients. Learn more about Back to Bedside on the ACGME website.
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ABOUT THE ACGME
The ACGME is a private, non-profit, professional organization responsible for the accreditation of more than 13,700 residency and fellowship programs and the more than 900 institutions that sponsor these programs in the US. Residency and fellowship programs educate approximately 167,100 resident and fellow physicians in 146 accredited specialties and subspecialties. The Mission of the ACGME is to improve health care and population health by assessing and enhancing the quality of resident and fellow physicians’ education through advancements in accreditation and education.