A new American doctor has the degree but not yet the independence. In its 2014 program requirements the accrediting body for residency programs, the ACGME, called the rule “graded and progressive responsibility” and described it as “one of the core tenets of American graduate medical education.”
Residents received more as they “demonstrate growth in their ability to care for patients.” Supervisory roles and conditional independence were a privilege, and they “must be assigned by the program director and faculty members.”