The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, or ACGME, holds responsibility for nearly 8,900 residency education programs across the United States. An important part of the career of medical students, residencies provide them important clinical experience and the opportunity to focus their practice in a specialty. Overseeing programs in 133 specialties and subspecialties, ACGME's Residency Review Committees makes the parent group one of the world's largest private accreditation agencies.

Despite the organization's current position of importance, it has existed only since 1981. Previous attempts at monitoring graduate medical education initiatives, such as the Liaison Committee for Graduate Medical Education, failed for various reasons such as inefficiency and bloat. However, the streamlined and structured ACGME continues to set important standards for those in the medical profession while remaining committed to honesty, integrity, fairness, stewardship, and similar values. 

About the Author: The Chief Forensic Pathologist for the Alameda County Coroner's Bureau, Thomas R. Beaver, MD, holds medical licenses in California and Florida. Affiliated with ACGME, Dr. Beaver has given lectures and courses on topics such as Communication and Systems-Based Practice and Medico-Legal Death Investigation for the group.

Best known for the creation of Jurassic Park and ER, Michael Crichton is one of my favorite authors. Born in 1942, he received his education at Harvard University, studying biological sciences during his time as a student. Among his many professional accomplishments, Michael Crichton was the only artist to have simultaneous television, film, and written works at the No. 1 spot on preeminent charts.

Michael Crichton preferred to write about the powers of technology, and he included a lot of action sequences in his novels, as well. He all but coined the technology thriller genre of modern literature, and many of his novels delve into the tense relationship between human beings and technology.

His first novel, Odds On, was published in 1966 under the name of John Lange. He published one book annually for the next four years, and then started to slow his output with the release of The Terminal Man. Some of his most popular novels include The Lost World, The Andromeda Strain, Congo, State of Fear, and many others. After he unexpectedly died of lymphoma in early 2008, Michael Crichton released a posthumous book called Pirate Latitudes. Another techno-thriller that has yet to be publicly named is scheduled for publication in 2012. In death, Michael Crichton was placed on the top-10 list of top-earning dead celebrities of 2009 by Forbes magazine.



In addition to his successes as an author, Michael Crichton directed and wrote many screenplays. While his most famous work on film is probably Jurassic Park, Crichton also produced Twister, Runaway, and The First Great Train Robbery. He also created and wrote the script for two TV series, Beyond Westworld and ER.

One of the most prolific writers of my lifetime, Michael Crichton produced striking literature that defined an entire genre of writing. His works have stood the test of time, and remain some of the best-selling novels of his generation.