After 18 months of preparation, LSU Sheveport Health Sciences Center received a full eight-year re-accreditation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education.
The LCME, formed in 1942 by the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Medical Association, accredits over 150 institutions in the U.S. and Canada. Without accreditation, the medical school would lose its medical residency programs and federal funding, and graduates would be unable to get medical licensing in most states.
LSUHSC Interim Dean John V. Marymont said he was relieved by the news.
“To put this in context, full LCME accreditation for us is like crossing the finish line after a grueling race,” he said in a news release. “No one is guaranteed re-accreditation, and some of the best medical schools in the nation have not been able to achieve what our school has just accomplished.”
A group of LCME reviewers visited the campus in January and commended the school for its information technology program. They were impressed the school provided students with tablets for clinical rotations and laptops pre loaded with course work.
According to Sally Croom, LSUHSC executive director of communications and public relations, the LCME cited three areas in which the medical school was non-compliant with standards. These areas were: a lack of a formal scientific method component in the first two years of the curriculum, no formal mechanism for assessing the potential risks to students who take elective programs in other areas of the country and the need for more student recreation and relaxation facilities.
“We are very pleased with the overall report and have already begun working on the three areas.”said Chancellor Robert A. Barish in a news release,
In the 2014-2015 school year, LSUHSC will begin to offer an evidence-based research component throughout the medical school curriculum, called “Translating Research into Practice.”
“Ultimately, our students will benefit from the ability to more effectively incorporate research into their treatment of patients,” Barish said regarding TRIP.
The Dean’s office is working on creating a plan to evaluate outside electives before they are offered to students. The school’s officials are also seeking funds to improve the Student Union to accommodate more student activities.