The Heersink School of Medicine has been awarded eight years of accreditation—the highest level available for medical schools in the United States—by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education after a rigorous two-year process.
Danielle Powell, MD, associate professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at UAB, working with a student.The University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine was awarded the highest level of accreditation available for a medical school in the United States by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education after a process of rigorous two-year self-study that culminated in a virtual visit by the LCME survey team earlier this spring.
In a letter sent to UAB President Ray L. Watts earlier this week, the LCME informed leaders of Heersink’s eight-year accreditation status.
“To achieve full accreditation from the LCME is a tremendous achievement that highlights not only the excellence of our medical education mission, but also the incredible work of faculty, staff, and students across the school to go through the reaccreditation process and preparing for our virtual site visit,” said Anupam Agarwal, MD, acting senior vice president for medicine and acting dean of the UAB Heersink School of Medicine.
“I salute the efforts of these leaders across the school, and in particular the LCME Executive Committee, led by co-faculty leaders Cathy Fuller, Ph.D., and Gustavo Heudebert, MD, overseeing every step of the process.”
Accreditation demonstrates that the Heersink School of Medicine has met and maintains the high standards set by the LCME, the nationally recognized authority for the accreditation of medical education programs leading to medical degrees in the United States and in Canada.
“We are delighted to learn that the LCME has accredited the Heersink School of Medicine for the full eight-year term,” said Cathy Fuller, Ph.D., co-lead of faculty accreditation, professor in the Department of cells, development and integration of the UAB. Biology.
“This LCME endorsement is a testament not only to the work of those directly involved in the LCME process over the past two years, but also to all those who dedicate their time, expertise, passion and support to the educational mission. school medical. “, said Fuller. “This result reaffirms our commitment to continuous improvement in the training of the next generation of physicians.
The rigorous reaccreditation process began in 2020 with the collection of information for the school’s data collection instrument, a database that was split and read by members of the self-study task force . The working group was tasked with highlighting institutional strengths, identifying challenges and proposing solutions to address these challenges.
Student leaders also conducted the Independent Student Analysis, an entirely student-led assessment of the medical school’s learning environment, educational program, resources, administration, and services.
The process concluded with a virtual site visit by an LCME review team from April 11-13, 2022.
“Retaining our full LCME accreditation is a testament that work teams across the school have put into the process,” said Craig Hoesley, MD, senior associate dean for medical education. “We took a long look at our institution and started to make changes in areas where we thought we could grow to meet our challenges, which is the whole point of the accreditation process. »
“Full accreditation is also a signal to students and faculty that Heersink School of Medicine offers medical education that rivals schools across the country,” Hoesley said.
Of the 93 items that were reviewed during the full process, the school had 10 unsatisfactory results and two satisfactory areas, requiring follow-up. The full findings of the LCME, along with progress notes on our work and improvements to date, are posted on the school’s website at go.uab.edu/lcme.
UAB President Ray L. Watts, MD – who served as Senior Vice President of Medicine and Dean of the School of Medicine from 2010 to 2013 – maintains an active leadership role in guiding the School of Medicine Heersink with Agarwal.
“I am proud to recognize Dr. Agarwal and the talented and dedicated team at the Heersink School of Medicine – current and past – for this important milestone,” Watts said. “While the reaccreditation comes as no surprise given the unprecedented positive momentum in our mission, it is a significant validation of the excellence and world-class medical education for which the school of medicine is known.”
Headteachers will submit a status report to LCME management in 2024 to provide updates regarding areas of concern. The next full survey for reaccreditation of the School of Medicine will take place in the 2029-2030 academic year.
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