Culminating a schoolwide collaborative self-assessment process that began in 2018, the Geisel School of Medicine has been awarded full accreditation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) that accredits medical schools in the U.S. and Canada. As part of the awarding of full accreditation, the LCME has requested that Geisel submit plans for action on 19 of the 93 accreditation elements. The LCME will return for a limited visit in early 2023, they will review our progress on the elements for which additional attention by the school is required, and then will determine the term of our accreditation cycle.
“The reaccreditation is a testament to the strength of our education programs, and the incredible work of our faculty, staff, and students,” said medical school dean Duane Compton, PhD. “I would like to extend my deep appreciation to everyone involved for their exceptional leadership during this process and moving forward as we address the remaining LCME action items.”
The intensive and rigorous process, along with the feedback the school receives through the LCME accreditation process, ultimately makes Geisel a better medical school because it requires continually examining and improving our education programs and the student experience. The LCME noted important areas of improvement in their accreditation letter, providing an outline of the elements for our continued focus. Anticipating these areas of improvement in the medical education program, the school began proactively addressing some of these elements this past summer.
Sonia Nagy Chimienti, MD, FIDSA, senior associate dean for medical education, will lead and work in collaboration with existing curricular and co-curricular committees, and convene several teams of faculty, staff, and students to address other opportunities for improvement. Working collaboratively through January and February 2022, these teams will draft specific action plans for all areas of improvement. The Action Plans will be submitted to the LCME in late Spring 2022. Critical areas of focus will be our advancement and promotions policies, learning environment concerns, and the ongoing efforts of the learning environment working group.
According to Nick Ryan, director of Accreditation and the Kern Program, additional areas of focus will be strengthening academic and career counseling for medical students, evaluating the rollout of Geisel counseling services to better support mental healthcare access, and renovation of student study and relaxation spaces.
Dr. Chimienti acknowledged the hard work that our community has put into the reaccreditation process thus far, while emphasizing that it will require the coordinated efforts of all members of our community to improve and grow. “I would like to take this opportunity to share my appreciation for the faculty, staff, and students who contributed to this tremendous effort. Reaccreditation provides us with the opportunity to critically appraise our educational programs and student supports, to learn about our strengths and discover areas of improvement. This deep work allows us to create an educational program and student support services of the highest quality, and to support our faculty and staff in the work that they do in our educational program. I am eager to partner with our community in the coming months to prepare and submit our plans for continuous improvement, and I look forward to collaborating as we plan for our limited survey next year.”
To keep everyone apprised of the school’s progress, accreditation status and action items will be updated on the Geisel School of Medicine website.
