Liaison Committee on Medical Education Continues MU School of Medicine’s Full Accreditation

The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) has continued full accreditation of the University of Missouri School of Medicine’s medical education program through the 2023-2024 academic year, the remainder of the accreditation term. The school submitted a status report to the accrediting body in December 2017 and received official notice of the committee’s decision on Feb. 28.

“We are pleased with the LCME’s decision, which recognizes the progress we’ve made as a school,” said Patrick Delafontaine, MD, Hugh E. and Sarah D. Stephenson dean of the MU School of Medicine. “Our medical education program has benefited from the LCME’s detailed and thoughtful feedback. I am grateful for the faculty, staff and students who have contributed along the way to develop and implement comprehensive action plans.”

The LCME is the accrediting body for programs granting Doctor of Medicine (MD) degrees in the U.S. and Canada. Medical school accreditation is a voluntary, peer-review process that fosters institutional and programmatic improvement.

The LCME visited the medical school in January 2016 and completed a routine survey. In June 2016, the committee awarded the school full accreditation for an indeterminate term and provided a detailed report to help the school in its improvement efforts. The LCME evaluates each medical school on 95 elements. The committee found the School of Medicine to be in compliance in 91 of those elements. It named four elements for improvement: affiliation agreements, diversity and inclusion, how students are treated and curricular management. The LCME asked school leaders to develop an action plan to address these specific topics.

The medical school submitted its action plan to the committee in November 2016, which the LCME approved in February 2017. In December 2017, the school provided a status report to the committee that led to the recent continuance of the school’s full accreditation.

The school has established a permanent LCME oversight committee consisting of faculty, staff and students that will lead LCME continuous quality improvement efforts. The school will continue to monitor its progress and will provide an update to the LCME in April 2019. The update will not affect its accreditation status, as the school has been fully accredited through the remainder of the current term. The LCME will conduct a routine survey during the 2023-2024 academic year, before the next eight-year accreditation term for the school’s medical education program.

“We are committed to maintaining our school’s longstanding tradition of educational excellence and are dedicated to continuously providing an outstanding educational experience for our students,” said Michael Hosokawa, EdD, senior associate dean for education at the medical school.

To view a list of accredited medical programs in the U.S., visit: http://lcme.org/directory/accredited-u-s-programs/.