International Self-Study Task Force


General Information

What is the Institutional Self-study Task Force (ISSTF)?

Modified from LCME.org

The institutional self-study is central to the accreditation process, and one of three required elements (the others being the Foundational Data – formerly called a database – and the Independent Student Analysis). The self-study requires participation of the administration, faculty, student body, and other constituencies to:

  1. Review the data collected about the medical school and its educational program (Foundational Data);
  2. Identify institutional strengths and issues requiring action;
  3. Define strategies to ensure that the strengths are maintained and any problem areas identified are addressed effectively.

The summary report resulting from the self-study process provides an evaluation of the quality of the medical education program and the adequacy of resources to support it. The usefulness of the self-study as a guide for planning and change is enhanced when participation is broad and representative, when the results and conclusions are widely disseminated, and when the participants have engaged in a thoughtful process of institutional analysis and reflection.

Our institutional self-study task force (ISSTF) and its six subcommittees will be responsible for conducting the self-study. For the taskforce, the faculty lead is Dr. Shannon Venance and Matt Wannan, UME, Manager. Each subcommittee will have a London chair and a Windsor lead. The subcommittees will review the relevant accreditation standards, information from the database, and other sources related to its specific area of responsibility (e.g., Educational Program Leading to the M.D. Degree (2 subcommittees), Medical Students, Faculty, Educational Resources and Institutional Setting.) and will generate a report.

Dr. Shannon Venance and Matt Wannan, Manager, UME will synthesize the individual subcommittee reports into a final self-study summary report that includes a statement of institutional strengths and issues that require attention to ensure ongoing or future compliance with accreditation standards and to improve programmatic quality. This report is submitted to CACMS and LCME along with the Foundational Data and the Independent Student Analysis.

Each member of an ISSTF sub-committee will be expected to review the provided data, attend 4 or 5 meetings from January to May 2014 and contribute to their sub-committee report (writing or review and editing).  CACMS/LCME sets out the questions to be addressed by each sub-committee.