The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) is the nationally recognized accrediting authority for medical education programs leading to the MD degree in the United States and Canada. The LCME is sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Medical Association.


Overview

Accreditation Procedures

Accreditation Standards

Publications

Connections

Submission Requirements

surveyCONNECT

Directory of Accredited Schools

Directory of Developing Schools

Frequently Asked Questions

LCME Events

Connecting with the Secretariat

Proposed Deletion of Accreditation Standard IS-2

The LCME has recommended the deletion of accreditation standard IS-2: The parent institution of a medical education program should have not-for-profit status. This recommendation follows from the premise that accreditation decisions must be based on the ability of an institution to meet accreditation standards and not on its form of governance.

Written comments received before April 23, 2013 will become part of the hearing record. Anonymous comments will not be considered. Public comment on this change was taken at the 2013 regional annual meetings of the AAMC Group on Educational Affairs (GEA).

If approved by the LCME, the deletion of standard IS-2 would become effective July 1, 2013, and would not appear in the 2013 Functions and Structure document or the medical education database for schools with surveys in the 2014-2015 academic year.


New Accreditation Standard ED-19-A Approved

At its February 2013 meeting, the LCME approved the following new accreditation standard:

ED-19-A: The core curriculum of a medical education program must prepare medical students to function collaboratively on health care teams that include health professionals from other disciplines as they provide coordinated services to patients. These curricular experiences include practitioners and/or students from the other health professions.

This new standard will become effective July 1, 2013, and will appear in the medical education database for schools with a full accreditation survey in the 2014-2015 academic year.


New LCME Members and Chair-elect

Arthur J. Ross, III, MD, MBA, Dean of the West Virginia University School of Medicine has been appointed Chair-elect of the LCME effective July 2013 when current Chair-elect, Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, Chancellor and Executive Vice President for Biosciences and Health Affairs, and Dean of the College of Medicine at the University of Toledo will commence his term as Chair of the LCME.

In July the LCME will also welcome the following new members who will succeed the six retiring members whose terms conclude in June 2013:

Professional Members
Term: July 2013-June 2016

  • Stephen Ray Mitchell, MD
    Dean for Medical Education
    Georgetown University School of Medicine

  • Charles P. Mouton, MD, MS
    Dean and Senior Vice President for Health Affairs
    Meharry Medical College

  • LouAnn Woodward, MD
    Vice Dean and Associate Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs
    University of Mississippi Medical Center

Public Member
Term: July 2013-June 2016

  • Joseph L. Fink, III, BS,Pharm, JD
    Professor of Pharmacy Law and Policy
    University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy

Student Members
Term: July 2013-June 2014

  • Michael McShane
    Fourth Year Student
    Penn State University College of Medicine

  • Camille Petri
    Fouth Year Student
    University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine

Connecting with the Secretariat
1:30 - 3:30 PM (EDT)


Join the LCME Secretariat for an interactive Q&A webinar each month through October 2013. The webinars are designed to address the specific needs of schools preparing for a survey visit within the next three years and to provide an opportunity for schools to interact directly with members of the Secretariat. The sessions also provide guidance on using accreditation standards for continuous quality improvement between full surveys.

Participants are welcome to just listen-in to the proceedings or to actively engage in the discussion. Members of the Secretariat field questions throughout the session and lead participants through case study exercises designed to illustrate the intent underlying frequently cited standards.

Sessions take place between January and October, typically on the third Thursday of every month, from 1:30 - 3:30 PM (EDT). 2013 Call-in Session Dates: January 17, February 14, March 21, April 18, May 16, June 20, July 18, August 15, September 19, October 17.

Please send an e-mail to erast@aamc.org for access information.


Interim Accreditation Review Process (IRP) and Checklists Available

The Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) has developed an Interim Accreditation Review Process (IRP) to assist schools in maintaining compliance with LCME/Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS) accreditation standards and creating a culture of continuous quality improvement.

After three years of experience in implementing the process in six Canadian faculties of medicine, the AFMC is now making these resources publically available. Checklists for each accreditation standard have been developed and are updated annually to facilitate the understanding of what is needed to achieve compliance. The Interim Accreditation Review Process is briefly described on the IRP website and in greater detail in the AFMC Interim Accreditation Guide.

The AFMC Interim Accreditation Guide and the AFMC Accreditation Checklists may be reproduced for the non-commercial purpose of scientific or educational advancement, with citation and author attribution.


2012 Summary of New and Revised LCME Accreditation Standards and Annotations

In support of its ongoing effort to clearly communicate annual updates and revisions made to the accreditation standards used to evaluate medical education programs, the LCME has published the Summary of New and Revised LCME Accreditation Standards and Annotations, July 2012. This document reflects changes made in the 2011-12 academic year and was sent to the deans of medical schools in the U.S. and Canada.


Connecting the Standards

The Connections project provides an integrated view of LCME accreditation standards by connecting the text of each standard to (1) its corresponding annotation, (2) the medical education database questions related to that standard, (3) the questions that the institutional self-study committee must address and (4) the findings that survey team members must document in the survey report. Each component of Connections is already accessible on the LCME website, albeit in various LCME publications. By connecting each standard to the relevant section of each related LCME publication, Connections provides a more nuanced understanding of the intent of each standard and the goals of the accreditation process.


Updates

Medical Education Databases Available for Surveys in 2013-2014

LCME Implements New Category of Compliance with Accreditation Standards

   

Association of American Medical Colleges
American Medical Association

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