UMSOM Receives Final Approval for Re-Accreditation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME)

‌University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, announced today that the UMSOM has now completed the re-accreditation process and has received full approval for re-accreditation for a period of 8 years by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education or “LCME.”  The LCME is jointly sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the American Medical Association (AMA), and is the official accrediting body for all programs leading to the MD degree in the U.S.

The LCME team at UMSOM was led by James B. Kaper, PhD, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor & Chair, Department of Microbiology & Immunology.  This re-accreditation process involved more than 170 faculty, student and staff members, who contributed to various aspects of implementing the process.

“I could not be more grateful to Dr. Kaper and his team for accomplishing this complex, extensive and critical task for our institution,” said Dean Reece, who is also Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, UM Baltimore and the John Z.and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor. “The entire process was a testimony to the outstanding collaboration and commitment to excellence that exists within the UMSOM community.”

Several key faculty members played an important leadership role in assisting Dr. Kaper during the review process, including David Mallott, MD, Associate Dean for Medical Education and Associate Professor of Psychiatry;  Donna Parker, MD, FACP, Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Associate Professor of Medicine; Joseph Martinez, MD, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, Assistant Dean for Clinical Medical Education and Residency Programs Liaison and Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine; Sandra Quezada, MD, MS, Assistant Dean for Admissions, Assistant Dean for Academic and Multicultural Affairs and Assistant Professor of Medicine; Mickey Foxwell, MD, Associate Dean for Admissions and Assistant Professor of Medicine; Olga Ioffe MD, Professor of Pathology and Division Head, Anatomic Pathology, and Associate Chair for Education; , Robert Habicht, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine; Joseph Liberto, MD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Associate Chief of Staff for Education and Academic Affairs, VA Maryland Health Care System; and Gregory Carey, PhD, Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology and Director of Student Summer Research and Community Outreach.  Staff members John Raczek, and Tanya Hopkins also played a crucial role.

“The process was arduous and lengthy, but we had a tremendous team who worked incredibly well together to get us to our goal!” Dr. Kaper said.

Initial planning meetings started in 2014.  Several committees consisting of faculty, students and staff members were established in 2015 to prepare the required self-study.  The self-study was submitted electronically in December 2015 and was more than 1,700 pages when printed.  The self-study covered 95 different elements within 12 broad standards dealing with all aspects of the SOM, not just narrow curriculum issues.

The full three-day site visit with six external reviewers was held at the beginning of March 2016.  The site team submitted a report to the national LCME committee, which met in June 2016.

In the final review phase, the UMSOM submitted a 74-page “action plan” to outline these policies and procedures, in December, 2016 and, in October, 2017 submitted a 200-page “Briefing Book” with additional details.  The LCME made a return visit in November 2017, and submitted its report to the national committee, which approved UMSOM re-accreditation in February, 2018.

“On behalf of the entire UMSOM community, I want to express our gratitude to everyone involved in this process, and my congratulations to the UMSOM for once again achieving this important milestone.” Dean Reece said.

About the University of Maryland School of Medicine

Commemorating its 210^th Anniversary, the University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807 as the first public medical school in the United States. It continues today as one of the fastest growing, top-tier biomedical research enterprises in the world -- with 43 academic departments, centers, institutes, and programs; and a faculty of more than 3,000 physicians, scientists, and allied health professionals, including members of the National Academy of Medicine  and the National Academy of Sciences, and a distinguished recipient of the Albert E. Lasker Award in Medical Research.  With an operating budget of more than $1 billion, the School of Medicine works closely in partnership with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medical System to provide research-intensive, academic and clinically-based care for more than 1.2 million patients each year. The School has over 2,500 students, residents, and fellows, and nearly $450 million in extramural funding, with most of its academic departments highly ranked among all medical schools in the nation in research funding. As one of the seven professional schools that make up the University of Maryland Baltimore campus, the School of Medicine has a total workforce of nearly 7,000 individuals. The combined School and Medical System (“University of Maryland Medicine”) has an annual budget of nearly $6 billion and an economic impact in excess of $15 billion on the state and local community. The School of Medicine faculty, which ranks as the 8^th-highest public medical school in research productivity, is an innovator in translational medicine, with 600 active patents and 24 start-up companies. The School works locally, nationally, and globally, with research and treatment facilities in 36 countries around the world. Visit medschool.umaryland.edu/