Return to Main Menu

Accreditation affirms COM achievement by Cindy Abole Public Relations Measuring success and achieving excellence is the goal of medical education programs across the country.   In June, MUSC’s College of Medicine won accreditation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), an accrediting body that approves programs awarding medical degrees. Accreditation is based on achieving established criteria and meeting national standards. This recognition affirms MUSC‘s achievement in professional competencies for student training and meeting national standards for preparing student-physicians to provide quality medical care for their patients.   “This is great news for us,” said Jeff Wong, M.D., associate dean for medical education, College of Medicine. “Achieving LCME accreditation reflects on the effectiveness of our medical school’s curriculum, our management process, and ability to be compliant to our mission and goals. It’s a reflection of our faculty and staff’s dedication within our academic community.”   The LCME survey team unveiled many institutional strengths including program leadership, continued success maintaining a strong, collaborative teaching and research environment, effective recruitment of new faculty and department leaders, and ongoing progress revising the medical school curriculum.   College of Medicine's Class of 2009 recites the doctor's oath, an abbreviated version of the traditional Hippocratic Oath, as part of the college's white coat ceremony. Celebrated since 1995, the event was held at the Sottile Theater and recognizes the humanity of medicine and the medical profession. “The accreditation for a full eight years is a great tribute to the leadership of Dean Reves and the hard work of the faculty of the College,” said MUSC President Ray Greenberg, M.D., Ph.D., “It serves as external validation that the College maintains high standards in its educational programs.”   Jointly sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges and the Council on Medical Education of the American Medical Association, the LCME manages the accreditation of more than 140 programs in the United States and Canada. LCME-accredited medical schools are eligible to receive federal grants, participate in loan programs for medical education and other advantages. Students are also eligible to take the United States Medical Licensing Examination and can enter approved residencies by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education – both are prerequisites for medical licensure in most states. The college was last accredited by LCME in 1997.   A multi-year process, MUSC’s road to accreditation began in October 2003 with an institutional self-study. A year prior to the survey, LCME sends materials and instructions to participating medical schools—allowing programs time to compile information on a medical education database and initiate the self-study. Working with the LCME Secretariat, the school also confirms dates for the LCME site visit.    The self-study revealed the college’s current state of affairs and was guided by a task force composed of faculty, students, college administrators and the dean.    The group reviewed and evaluated information from the college’s medical education database, WebAdvisors and other resources. College administrators were guided to make accreditation decisions based on criteria such as organization, completeness and internal consistency of quantitative data such as grades, admissions and financial information.   The LCME self-study report was prepared and submitted October 2004 by Wong’s predecessor, Victor Del Bene, M.D., Robert Sade, M.D., Department of Surgery, Amy Blue, Ph.D., associate dean for curriculum and evaluation, and Virginia Donehue.   The survey visit was conducted in January. The five-member LCME team met with dozens of College of Medicine faculty and students asking a range of questions based on the self-study report. LCME surveyors, composed of peers from other LCME-accredited medical schools, reviewed results from oral reports concluding that MUSC ranked high among other peer institutions vying for accreditation.   “The LCME accreditation process forced us to look closely at the way our medical student’s education is conducted. We considered different ideas and perspectives from faculty, students and staff,” said Jerry Reves, M.D., dean of the College of Medicine. “It has helped us evaluate our program’s strengths and weaknesses and consider our potential for even better performance.”   The self-study also uncovered several deficiencies that are being corrected, according to Wong. Problems due to campus construction and changes in new curriculum reflect on areas of transition throughout campus and the college. These changes will result in an improved academic environment for the college and campus community.   The timing of the LCME accreditation cycle worked well for Wong, who began his role as associate dean for medical education in July 2004.   As the college prepared for accreditation, Wong found it a perfect time to learn and understand details about the college and his job from day-to-day. For now, Wong would like a chance to refocus his efforts on current happenings within the college, plus work with the dean in training and preparing the college’s 500-plus medical students for life-long learning in medicine.   “I want our students to be fully engaged during their medical education experience,” Wong said. “The accreditation process was a necessary, insightful, well-reasoned approach for effectively evaluating our educational efforts. Its results have prompted the college’s need for change and addresses the specific needs of our students and faculty.” Embracing change, teaching in medical education Change is a continually evolving theme in today’s era of medical education. As the College of Medicine continues to define their strategic plan and focus, several new programs affecting medical school curriculum are currently being evaluated as tools to enhance the medical school curriculum.   Dr. Jeffrey Wong, left, congratulates first-year medical student Robert Jansen after receiving his white doctor's coat during the college's traditional ceremony Aug. 21.  “For four years, medical students are with us,” said Jeff Wong, M.D., associate dean for medical education, College of Medicine. “Our challenge is to craft medical education that is stimulating and complete.”   Themes like improving the integration of basic and clinical sciences or new trends in teaching and models promoting early interaction between medical students and patients are now on the horizon. These changes will promote collaboration between student-physicians and colleagues in other health disciplines and spur the development of specialty education centers.   Experimenting with new curriculum structures is already being practiced at leading medical institutions like Duke, Harvard, Baylor University and the University of California, San Francisco.   “You know there has been immense innovation in the field of medicine in the past 50 years, but I'm not sure we have seen the same degree of change in our medical education. We will examine that in the next two years, and I am confident under Dr. Wong's visionary leadership we will be a national leader in medical education,” said Dean Jerry Reves, M.D., College of Medicine.   One change already under way is the college’s new emphasis on the value of teaching. Most faculty in academic medicine are drawn to the excitement and constant change of student interaction and subject. In medical education, active teaching involves the teacher, student and physician-resident.   To recognize teaching, the college is proposing the creation of an MUSC Academy of Teaching Scholars, a program designed to improve the college’s scholarly educational emphasis, according to Wong. The academy will be open to all qualifying MUSC faculty and will be a foundation to provide support, sharing and foster faculty development in education.   “The college is not resting on the laurels of meeting LCME (Liaison Committee on Medical Education) accreditation, however, with new initiatives involving clinical simulation, and a new Teaching Academy and other efforts to reward and promote learning opportunities,” said MUSC President Ray Greenberg, M.D., Ph.D. Friday, Sept. 2, 2005 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.