The Purposes of Accreditation and Self-Study
“The accreditation process adopted by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) has two general aims: to certify that a medical education program meets prescribed standards, and to promote institutional self evaluation and improvement. The institutional self-study is central to the accreditation process. In the self-study, a medical school brings together representatives of the administration, faculty, student body, and other constituencies to (1) collect and review data about the medical school and its educational programs, (2) identify institutional strengths and issues requiring action, and (3) define strategies to ensure that the strengths are maintained and any problems are addressed. The summary report resulting from the self-study process provides an evaluation of the quality of the medical education program and the adequacy of resources that support it. The usefulness of the self-study as a guide for planning and change will be enhanced if participation is broad and representative, and if the resulting analysis and conclusions are widely disseminated. Because of the time and resources required to conduct a self-study, schools should give careful thought to other purposes that may be served by the process… A self-study that serves multiple institutional purposes is likelier to have a productive outcome than one that is conducted simply to satisfy accreditation requirements. ” LCME Guide to the Self Study (http://www.lcme.org/selfstudyguide0809.pdf )