Liaison Committee on Medical Education

Last updated
Liaison Committee on Medical Education
AbbreviationLCME
Headquarters Washington, D.C., U.S.
Location
Parent organization
Website lcme.org

The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) is an accrediting body for educational programs at schools of medicine in the United States and Canada. [1] The LCME is sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Medical Association.

Contents

The committee publishes many guides and standards, [2] including the Directory of Accredited Medical Education Programs. [3] The LCME currently accredits 155 U.S. schools, which includes 4 in Puerto Rico, as well as 17 others in Canada. [4] The LCME accredits the schools that grant a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree. Graduates of LCME-accredited schools are eligible for residency programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

Organization

The LCME has 19 voting members from three categories: [5]

History

The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), an accrediting body for US and Canadian professional education services, was established at a 1942 conference of members of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the American Medical Association. [6] Since 1979, LCME has collaborated with the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools sponsored by the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada and the Canadian Medical Association) for the accreditation of Canadian medical schools. [5]

Accreditation

Accreditation is a process by which medical institutions and programs located in the U.S. and Canada undergo a detailed peer-based assessment of compliance with standards for medical education quality. [5] LCME accreditation is required in most states for licensing students and obtaining federal financial aid and professional education services in the United States and Canada leading to an MD degree. The evaluation is conducted by LCME periodically, typically every eight years. The programs that meet the standards are considered "accredited". [5]

Graduates of LCME-approved institutions are considered to have an educational experience sufficient to prepare them for internship programs that are approved for the purposes of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education as well as allowing them access to selected federal grants and programs and medical licensure by state boards. [7] The accreditation process includes on-site surveys in which the LCME is represented by ad-hoc teams of evaluators. Team members include basic science and clinical science educators. . [7]

As of 2021, institutions must demonstrate appropriate performance in the following twelve standards to obtain or maintain accreditation: [8]

StandardDescription
Standard 2Leadership and Administration
Standard 3Academic and Learning Environments
Standard 4Faculty Preparation, Productivity, Participation, and Policies
Standard 5Educational Resources and Infrastructure
Standard 6Competencies, Curricular Objectives, and Curricular Design
Standard 7Curricular Content
Standard 8Curricular Management, Evaluation, and Enhancement
Standard 9Teaching, Supervision, Assessment, and Student and Patient Safety
Standard 10Medical Student Selection, Assignment, and Progress
Standard 11Medical Student Academic Support, Career Advising, and Educational Records
Standard 12Medical Student Health Services, Personal Counseling, and Financial Aid Services

The method frequently promotes change of systematic and programmatic practice. [9]

See also

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References

  1. Glossary. ACGME website. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2001-04-24. Retrieved 2007-08-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Publications". LCME. Archived from the original on 2010-10-06. Retrieved 2012-06-27.
  3. "Directory of Accredited Programs". LCME. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved 2012-06-27.
  4. "Directory of Accredited Programs". LCME. Archived from the original on January 6, 2016. Retrieved 2012-06-27.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Rules of Procedure". lcme.org. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  6. Kassebaum, D. G. (February 1992). "Origin of the LCME, the AAMC-AMA partnership for accreditation". Academic Medicine. 67 (2): 85–7. doi: 10.1097/00001888-199202000-00005 . PMID   1547000.
  7. 1 2 "What is LCME?". Medical College of Georgia . Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  8. "Standards for Accreditation of Medical Education Programs Leading to the MD Degree". LCME. November 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  9. "LCME Accreditation". UCSF Medical Education. University of California, San Francisco. 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2020.