Chicago, IL, June 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Twenty-three teams led by residents and fellows have been chosen by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) to receive funding in the fifth cycle of Back to Bedside, an initiative developed by residents and fellows to back innovative projects that strengthen the bond between physicians and patients while enhancing the clinical learning environment in graduate medical education.
This year’s recipients were selected from the highest number of applicants ever recorded. Following a two-year development period, they will showcase their projects at the ACGME Annual Educational Conference set to take place in Orlando, Florida, in 2028.
A complete list of the newest Back to Bedside awardees, their projects, and team leaders can be found here. Including this cohort, over 130 projects have received funding since the program launched in 2017. Projects in this cycle aim to boost patient connection via nutrition education and lifestyle coaching, improve perinatal mental health, incorporate mind-body techniques into psychiatric care, organize monthly community health fairs, produce ICU diaries, and pursue other initiatives.
“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,” stated 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.”
These projects, coming from institutions throughout the country, prioritize direct patient contact and quantifiable results. Collectively, they aim to improve the clinical learning environment by building deeper physician-patient bonds and promoting the well-being of both parties.
The ACGME’s Council of Review Committee Residents launched Back to Bedside in 2017 with the goal of combating burnout by fostering greater meaning in medicine through more intentional patient interactions. Additional information about Back to Bedside is available on the ACGME website.
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ABOUT THE ACGME
The ACGME serves as a private, nonprofit professional body that accredits over 13,700 residency and fellowship programs as well as the more than 900 institutions sponsoring them across the United States. These programs train roughly 167,100 resident and fellow physicians across 146 accredited specialties and subspecialties. The ACGME’s mission is to advance health care and population health by evaluating and improving the quality of physician education through innovations in accreditation and educational practices.
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