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Contacting the LCME


AMA - LCME Office

AAMC - LCME Office

CACMS Office

LCME Members

Notification of a Significant Change

Designate Your School's Faculty Accreditation Lead and Staff Visit Coordinator

Request a Consultation with LCME Secretariat Staff

Press Inquiries

General Inquiries


Complaints and
Third-Party Comments

 

Programs leading to the MD degree in the United States and Puerto Rico are accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME). The LCME is jointly sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the Council on Medical Education of the American Medical Association (AMA). Each organization appoints a Co-Secretary to the LCME and maintains an LCME office. Official correspondence from US programs should be addressed to both LCME Co- Secretaries.

MD programs in Canada are accredited by the LCME in cooperation with the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS). Official correspondence from Canadian schools must be addressed to both LCME Co- Secretaries and to the CACMS Secretary.

Correspondence e-mailed to lcmesecretariat@aamc.org will be distributed to both Co-Secretaries. If you have any questions and/or comments for the LCME, please send an email to lcme@aamc.org, or contact staff individually as shown below.


American Medical Association - Liaison Committee on Medical Education

Barbara Barzansky, PhD, MHPE
LCME Co-Secretary
Director, Undergraduate Medical Education

Robert B. Hash, MD
Assistant LCME Secretary

Marina Ramos
Program Administrator

Council on Medical Education
American Medical Association
515 North State Street
Chicago, IL 60654
Phone: 312-464-4933
Fax: 312-464-5830


Association of American Medical Colleges - Liaison Committee on Medical Education

Dan Hunt, MD, MBA
LCME Co-Secretary
Senior Director, Accreditation Services

Donna Waechter, PhD
Assistant LCME Secretary, and Sr. Director, LCME Surveys and Team Training

Heather Lent
Director, Accreditation Systems

Association of American Medical Colleges
2450 N Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20037
Phone: 202-828-0596
Fax: 202-828-1125


Contacting the CACMS

The Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada - Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools

Genevieve Moineau, MD
CACMS Secretary
Vice-President, Education, AFMC

Linda N. Peterson, PhD
Assistant CACMS Secretary

Claudine Le Quellec
Accreditation Manager

The Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC)
265 Carling Avenue, Suite 800
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 2E1
Phone: 613-730-0687
Fax: 613-730-1196


Notifications of a Significant Change
The LCME (and CACMS, for Canadian Schools) must be notified in advance of any significant change to a medical education program or school of medicine. Institutional changes that the LCME and CACMS consider to be significant include changes in ownership or governance, increases in class size and new or expanded branch campuses. For more information on notifying the LCME of such changes, please visit the LCME Submissions Requirements page.


Designate Your School's Faculty Accreditation Lead and Staff Visit Coordinator

Please designate your school’s Faculty Accreditation Lead and Staff Visit Coordinator using the School Accreditation Personnel Designation Form.

The Faculty Accreditation Lead is typically a faculty member or senior administrator with extensive knowledge of the school and its programs. This individual manages the self-study process, coordinates the collection of data for the Medical Education Database, and develops the survey visit schedule with the team secretary. The Faculty Accreditation Lead will be the primary point of contact with the LCME Secretariat and the survey team secretary.

The Staff Visit Coordinator is typically an experienced staff member. This individual manages the logistics of the survey visit, including hotel reservations, ground transportation, and restaurant recommendations. The Staff Visit Coordinator often manages the production and mailing of the completed Medical Education database.



Requests for Consultations with LCME Secretariat Staff

The LCME Secretariat, and for Canadian schools, the CACMS Secretary, is available to consult with new, developing, and existing medical education programs. The request must come from the dean of the medical school or, in the case of a new or developing medical education program, from the program's leadership. New or developing medical education programs are strongly encouraged to review the Guidelines for New and Developing Medical Schools and Functions and Structure of a Medical School before contacting the LCME Secretariat. Typically, the LCME Secretariat will consult with a new program's representatives by telephone prior to scheduling a face-to-face consultation.

Requests for consultations must be sent via e-mail to the LCME Secretaries at lcmesecretariat@aamc.org and, for Canadian schools, to the CACMS Secretary at cacms@afmc.ca, and must note "Consultation Request" in the subject line.


Press Inquiries
Press inquiries should be directed to the D.C. office of the LCME Secretariat at dhunt@aamc.org or 202-828-0596. Press inquiries relating to Canadian schools should be directed to the CACMS Secretary at cacms@afmc.ca or 613-730-0687.


General Inquiries
Questions about the LCME accreditation process, the accreditation status of a particular medical education program, or the interpretation of accreditation standards must be submitted via e-mail to lcme@aamc.org and, for Canadian schools, to cacms@afmc.ca.


Complaints and Third-party Comments

Complaints or third-party comments about an undergraduate medical education program accredited by the LCME must be submitted to lcme@aamc.org and, for Canadian schools, to cacms@afmc.ca. A complaint or comment may come from any source and must be submitted via email. Anonymous complaints will not be considered.

The LCME (and CACMS) will only consider a complaint about a medical education program that indicates noncompliance with one or more accreditation standards. It will not consider an individual grievance relating to admission, dismissal, or faculty appointment or advancement. A complaint about the LCME itself or, for Canadian schools, CACMS, its practices and standards, or the conduct of an accreditation survey must be sent to both LCME Secretaries and, for Canadian schools, to the CACMS Secretary via e-mail as outlined above. Please consult the Rules of Procedure for detailed information on submitting a complaint or comment, and about the LCME process for considering complaints and comments.


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