Countdown to Undergraduate Medical Education Accreditation 2015

The countdown to Accreditation 2015 for our Undergraduate Medical Education (UME) Program has begun.

With 2013-2014 being our index year, and the one in which accreditors will critically review with respect to standards the time is now for faculty and staff to learn more about the accreditation process and get involved.

Accreditation is a standards-based peer review process that demonstrates Schulich Medicine & Dentistry possesses the required elements for quality education programs. Essentially, it is an external lens assuring the program meets the needs of stakeholders, including students, parents, the University and the general public.

It guarantees for the public that we have pedagogically sound programs aligned with the School's and the University's, mission, vision and values.

All of our dentistry, postgraduate (PGE) programs and professional graduate programs are also subject to accreditation. The Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada accredits the DDS, ITD, OMFS, Grad Ortho and GPR programs every seven years.

The PGE accreditation occurred in October 2012, and the accreditation status for each of our programs that were reviewed was finalized in January and February. During the next two years, there will be additional reviews completed for a number of our postgraduate programs due to a difference in timing for the cycle.

Our professional graduate programs undergo a periodic review as well as every seven years under a provincial accreditation lens.

As a Canadian undergraduate medical program, we are accredited by the Liaison Committee for Medical Education (LCME) and the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS). This is the next accreditation to which the School will be subject.

While the site visit - the final step in the process - occurs once every eight years, accreditation needs to be viewed as a continuous quality improvement process. "Schulich Medicine needs to experience a cultural shift and understand the ongoing nature of accreditation," said Dr. Shannon Venance, faculty lead for accreditation.

An interim report, which is a self-critique of the 130 standards of accreditation is now complete and will form the basis for transitioning to the 24 months required to prepare for the LCME/CACMS site visit. An accreditation team and a project plan have been developed.

Communication with faculty and staff is a critically important part of the project.

We will be creating a webpage with updates on the process, a calendar to note the activities, and reporting on progress through The Pulse. Please be prepared that requests for your involvement will be made regularly. There will be many opportunities to become involved.

"I can't stress enough, just how important it is that faculty and staff are aware of accreditation, understand the role they will be playing and know to keep continual quality improvement in mind in all that they do," said Dr. Venance.

Accreditation team members include: Drs. Venance, Rosenberg, Johnson, Garcia and Yanchula, Lesley DePauw and Matt Longstaffe. The team reports to, and is supported by Drs. Strong, Garcia, Tithecott and Cooper.

To view the Dean's video message on accreditation please click here.