Dear colleagues,
The School of Medicine is due for its next Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) reaccreditation visit. Reaccreditation is critical for us. It determines whether our undergraduate medical education program is in compliance with established standards and is required for our students to receive federal financial aid and for licensing graduates in most states. It also is an opportunity for us to do our own assessment of our education programs as part of our process of continuous quality improvement.
LCME accreditation is a voluntary, peer-reviewed process of quality assurance. Medical schools undergo this external review and extensive internal self-assessment process to demonstrate they are meeting expectations for all 12 LCME standards and their 93 associated elements typically every eight years. The establishment of operational standards and their comprehensive review is similar to those by the Joint Commission, ACGME, NCI, FDA, SACS-COC and other major accreditors of the university and health system.
Preparations for our next LCME site visit, which is scheduled for February 18–21, 2024, have already begun. Because of the extremely comprehensive and high-stakes nature of this activity, we will be providing periodic updates. An overview of our efforts to date and our plan going forward is posted on our school’s LCME webpage.
Your engagement and support is critical.
The Office of Medical Education is working diligently to ensure our school’s processes are aligned with the LCME accreditation standards. However, reaccreditation requires a total school effort. We need the engagement and support of our entire school community to build on our tradition of excellence in education by cultivating a supportive learning environment, providing timely feedback to our learners and ensuring compliance with other LCME standards.
Over the next 17 months, we will continue to gather input from students, staff, faculty and residents. Feedback from all stakeholder groups is critical to identify opportunities and implement solutions that will improve our ability to deliver innovative educational experiences that prepare our learners to deliver health care of the future. I thank you in advance for your support of this important work.
With gratitude,
David Chelmow, M.D.
Interim Dean, VCU School of Medicine
Interim Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, VCU Health System
Luan E. Lawson, M.D.
Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education and Student Affairs