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Overview of LCME Accreditation

The LCME (Liaison Committee on Medical Education) is the body that accredits U.S. and Canadian medical schools.  It is recognized as the official accreditation body by the physician licensure boards of all U.S. states and territories, the Canadian provinces, and the U.S. Department of Education. The LCME is jointly sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the American Medical Association (AMA) .  

Accreditation is a quality-assurance process that determines whether an institution meets established standards for function, structure, and performance.  The process fosters institutional self study and program improvement.

The LCME is a board of medical educators and administrators, practicing physicians, public members, and medical students.  Ad hoc teams of evaluators and a member of the LCME represent the LCME in conducting approximately 25 on-site surveys of medical schools each year.  Survey team members are peer evaluators, a mix of basic science and clinical educators, administrators, and medical practitioners.  Members of the LCME and its survey teams (excluding full- and part-time operations staff) are volunteers who serve without compensation.

The usual period of full accreditation is 8 years.  UVa was last surveyed in 1998, when it received full accreditation.  The school is preparing for the next LCME site visit: October 8-11, 2006.

Preparing for Accreditation
Schools receive material and instructions more than a year before the survey visit so that they may compile a medical education database and undertake an institutional self study.  The database gives detailed information about all aspects of the school and its programs and facilities.  The self study requires the school to reflect on its programs and to assess the outcomes.  The dean of the medical school appoints a chair and/or steering committee to direct the self study.

The LCME survey team conducts a site survey to verify and update information compiled in the database, clarify any unclear issues, view at firsthand the environment and facilities for learning, and meet with administrators, faculty members, and students.  The team meets with the dean at the beginning of the site visit to explain its purpose and to gain input from the dean.  It meets again with the dean at the end of the visit to summarize its findings about the program's strengths and weaknesses.

A school's medical students are expected to organize their own independent study of the educational program, student support services, and the environment for learning.  This report is submitted to the LCME.  Also, medical students serve on various committees conducting the institutional self study.  At the appropriate deadline, a school submits a completed database and an executive summary of the institutional self study, along with the independent student report.

Publications containing accreditation standards, self study questions, rules of procedure, as well as other LCME documents are available at the LCME website.