In this month’s installment of Dean Termuhlen’s Take On …, Dr. Paula Termuhlen discusses LCME accreditation and its importance to WMed’s maturation as a medical school.
What is LCME accreditation and why is it important for our medical school?
Since WMed is a separate degree-granting institution and our core educational mission is about creating physicians, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) accreditation is fundamental to our existence. We also require additional accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) so that we can grant degrees for our master’s degree students but most of the work that we do is related to our medical education program and that’s why the LCME accreditation is really important.
When did the LCME survey for our accreditation take place, who was involved, and how did we prepare for the survey?
On an annual basis, LCME teams will visit approximately 10 schools throughout the country. In preparation for those visits, each school gets a two-year notice and is expected to conduct a self-study to understand its strengths, whether its students are satisfied with their education, and identify opportunities for improvement. Those two years are very intense and our efforts at WMed were led by Michele Serbenski, our chief strategy officer and senior associate dean for Institutional Advancement, and Mike Busha, MD, our chief academic officer, and senior associate dean for Academic Affairs. We prepared for the survey by having multiple teams involved and that allowed for most of our faculty, staff, and students to touch this process in some way whether formally as part of examining a portion of the work that we do or participating in the actual visit that occurred in April 2023. Those two years of work are irreplaceable in terms of how we can then use that information during the self-study and for continuously improving the work we do related to the medical education program.
What was the result of the LCME survey as it pertains to our accreditation status and any findings?
We have received our maximum accreditation time for an eight-year term, which we’re very excited about and proud of. Our next survey visit will be in the academic year 2030-31. The self-study process worked because we know where our opportunities for improvement are and the LCME validated that, so we feel like it was truly a successful process. All of this serves as our external or national validation of our success of launching the medical school and now being a mature institution that has the eight years of full accreditation. We’ve successfully cleared every hurdle along the way on the exact timeline without a delay so that speaks volumes to the amount of time, energy, and effort of everyone involved, and their dedication to the work that we do to get it right.
Why is the granting of accreditation by the LCME for a period of eight years an important milestone for WMed?
What is not immediately obvious – but important to recognize – about meeting that milestone is we were held to the same standard as other mature medical schools. Previously, when we received our first five-year full accreditation in 2018, there was some grace given for being young or evolving. This time we were expected to have everything in place and we were judged with the exact same criteria that every other school is held accountable to. When new schools launch, like we did at WMed in 2012, there is an incremental increase in the amount of time you have before your next LCME visit. For all kinds of reasons that make sense. Accreditors need to take a closer look at young schools in their early phases. We were granted preliminary accreditation in 2012 and that lasted for a few years until we were granted provisional accreditation in 2016 and then our initial full accreditation in 2018. We began preparing in 2021 for our most recent LCME visit in 2023 so it’s almost like you’re continually in this process of examining yourself and improving along the way. We’ve now reached the point where we’re considered a mature medical school and eligible to receive the maximum full accreditation time frame of eight years.
What is the value of accreditation and what do the results of this latest survey indicate to you about our maturation as a medical school?
What’s great about it is, because we have such a solid foundation with our education mission at this point, it gives us the time and energy to broaden our focus and really start to dig deeper into our research, clinical, and community engagement missions. Now that we have that solid foundation and we have everyone telling us we’re doing a great job in the medical education realm, it gives us the opportunity to spend some time and energy on – and give more attention to – some of our other missions to help them be as outstanding as our medical education program.
Dean’s Hat Tip
I want to give a shout out to our clinical staff and providers across our patient care sites who continue to deliver the highest levels of care, who serve our community – particularly those that are either underserved populations or marginalized populations – and are doing it shorthanded and with limited resources. We can’t thank them enough for the work they’re doing.
Dean Termuhlen’s Take On ... is a monthly message from our dean to discuss topics of importance to WMed, medical school stakeholders, and the communities that make up Southwest Michigan. Is there a topic you would like to hear Dean Termuhlen’s take on? Let us know by sending a message to office.dean@wmed.edu.