LCME

Message From the Dean

The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), which accredits schools of medicine in the United States and Canada, will visit the College of Medicine at Downstate for an accreditation site visit February 21 – 24, 2021.  The LCME is the accrediting body for programs leading to the M.D. degree. 

As part of the accreditation process, we will embark on a rigorous institutional self-study, which will formally launch in September 2019, and will bring together representatives of the faculty, administration, student body, and other constituencies to do the following:

• Collect and review data about the College of Medicine and our educational programs;
• Identify both institutional strengths and challenges that require attention; and
• Define strategies to ensure that the strengths are maintained and any problems are addressed effectively.

To support these efforts, we have formed an institutional task force, comprised of faculty, students and staff.  Dr. Fred Volkert, our designated faculty accreditation lead, will chair a steering committee to lead and coordinate the efforts of the task force.  In parallel to this self-study process, a group of MD students will be performing an independent analysis of student satisfaction. The results of this analysis will be used by the task force to further strengthen the program.

This process will result in the generation of a Self-Study Report which will be submitted to the LCME for review in the Fall of 2020 prior to the February 2021 site visit by an ad hoc team of LCME surveyors.

LCME accreditation is an opportunity to engage our entire community as we conduct a comprehensive review of our College of Medicine education programs. The self-study process is best served when participation is broad and representative. It is in this spirit that I encourage everyone to participate in any way you can so that we can build on our strengths and identify opportunities for innovation and improvements. 

This website has been established to provide our community with updates on our activities. I invite you to browse our website, and to contact us with your feedback and ideas to improve our educational programs.