To the College of Medicine Community: As you know, we have received verbal notice that the accreditation status of the MD Program, determined at their recent meetings by the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS) and the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), is “accreditation with probation”. Detailed instructions about the required response will follow in a transmittal letter that we expect to receive by the end of October. In the meantime, this is what we know now: • Of the 10 standards under scrutiny during the March 2013 visit, six are now considered either “in compliance” (ED-8, ED-41, ER-4 and MS-37) or “in compliance with need for monitoring” (ED-30, ED-31, ED-44 and MS-32) – the latter designation may be used when compliance with a standard is new and relatively untested, or is at risk because of other events. ED-9 was added to the monitoring list – it pertains to the implementation of a new curriculum. • Of the original 10 standards, four (IS-9, ED-2, ED-3 and ED-24) are still considered noncompliant, and a further two areas of noncompliance have been identified (IS-11 and ED-25A). The attached document provides the details of these six standards, along with the findings of the survey team from March 2013. This outcome was fully predictable: IS-9 was first cited in 2009, and has remained problematic through limited visits in 2011 and 2013, despite the warning that followed the 2011 visit. We understand we now have two years to fully address these issues. Much work has already been done in recent months in anticipation of this outcome. Immediate next steps are as follows: • We will be required to develop an Action Plan (again, the details will be in the forthcoming transmittal letter) for submission to LCME/CACMS by the end of December 2013, for approval at their January 2014 meetings. • Development of the Action Plan includes a Secretariat Consultation, wherein a Secretariat representative from each of the two accreditation bodies will come in early December to review the plan in person with those most responsible for its implementation. • Arrangements are being made for two or three cross-site Town Hall meetings in early November to provide additional information to the CoM community, answer questions, and gather input for the Action Plan. • We will also create a web page to enable ready access to the transmittal letter and to gather suggestions for inclusion in the Action Plan. It will be my responsibility to collate and edit the Action Plan document, with input from others as appropriate to the standards in question and the instructions in the transmittal letter. I hope to make use of the Accreditation Working Group of the Dean’s Advisory Committee to be my sounding board as I develop the Action Plan. Finally, it is important to note that the March 2013 survey team did not find fault with the overall adequacy of the current educational program. Preliminary information from the MCCQE1 exam in the Spring of 2013 suggests that the performance of our students is on the rise, contrary messaging notwithstanding. I urge all faculty, residents, and staff to be cognizant of the substantial impact of this situation on our students, and to continue to provide them with a sound educational program, accompanied by lots of support and encouragement. Thank you. Sincerely, Sheila Rutledge Harding, MD, MA, FRCPC Associate Dean, Medical Education College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 18:35:45 +0000
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