On Wednesday, June 22, the George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences received the formal report from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) conveying that the medical education program leading to the M.D. degree will continue with full accreditation for an eight-year term.
The LCME accreditation is a peer-review process of quality assurance that determines whether the program meets established standards. To achieve and maintain accreditation, a medical education program leading to the M.D. degree in the United States and Canada must meet the LCME accreditation standards, which are reviewed by a team of site visitors every eight years. Programs are required to demonstrate that their graduates exhibit general professional competencies that are appropriate for entry to the next stage of their training and that serve as the foundation for lifelong learning and proficient medical care.
“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,” said Jeffrey S. Akman, M.D., vice president for health affairs, Walter A. Bloedorn Professor of Administrative Medicine, and dean of the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Following an exhaustive self-study and data-gathering process, the intensive three-day site visit took place in February 2016. The outcome of the visit was very positive, and the members of the survey team were impressed with many aspects of the medical education program.
The formal report indicated that the school is in compliance with all accreditation standards with two standards determined to be in “compliance with a need for monitoring.” As expected, the LCME requested a follow-up report on the evaluation of the curriculum following the completion of the roll-out of the revised curriculum in 2017. Additionally, the LCME cited the average educational debt of medical students as an ongoing challenge for the school and requested a follow-up report on the school’s continued efforts to mitigate student indebtedness. These reports are due in August 2017.
"This was a remarkable accreditation survey that gives us much to be proud of,” said Richard J. Simons, M.D., senior associate dean for M.D. programs, who led the LCME accreditation effort for SMHS. “As we move forward, we will continue to strive for excellence on all levels of medical education."
Contact LCME by email: lcme [at] aamc [dot] org
