The School of Medicine and Health Sciences education program leading to the doctor of medicine degree received full accreditation for an eight-year term last month, according to a University release.
The Liaison Committee on Medical Education, a peer-review process that determines whether the program meets established educational standards, granted the accreditation after a data-gathering process and three-day site visit by an LCME team in February. The report said that the school is in compliance with all accreditation standards but two standards have a “need for monitoring,” according to the release.
The LCME requested a follow-up report to evaluate the program’s revised curriculum once it is completed in 2017. The committee also requested a follow-up report on the school’s efforts to relieve student debt and cited the average educational debt of medical students as a challenge for the school. These follow-up reports are due in August 2017.
“This was a remarkable accreditation survey that gives us much to be proud of,” Richard Simons, senior associate dean for M.D. programs, who led the LCME accreditation effort for SMHS, said in the release. “As we move forward, we will continue to strive for excellence on all levels of medical education.”
Every medical education program leading to the M.D. degree must meet the LCME accreditation standards every eight years. Programs are required to demonstrate that their graduates are ready for the next stage of their training.
“This is an outstanding outcome – and I am grateful to the incredible team of students, faculty, staff, and deans who worked extremely hard to achieve this result,” Jeffrey Akman, dean of SMHS, said in the release.