Accreditation: Not Glamorous, But Essential
Good morning!
Before I get into today’s topic, I want to share my thoughts about Wednesday’s tragic incident at our sister institution, Mississippi Baptist Medical Center. My deepest sympathies go to the families that lost loved ones, and my thoughts are with Baptist employees who are no doubt shaken at the loss of their colleagues and by the idea this could happen on their campus. As we know, something like Wednesday’s shooting can occur anywhere at any time. National news stories have shown that no place is immune from senseless and horrific violence. Therefore, we should all try our best to be aware of our surroundings and remember the three actions to take when confronted with an active shooter or some other potentially violent situation:
- RUN and escape, if possible
- HIDE if you can’t get way from the area
- FIGHT if you must, as a last resort
This tragedy made me think about our own Campus Police and how thankful we should be that they come to work each day with the mission of doing whatever is necessary to make our work areas as safe as possible. While they certainly can’t prevent everything, it’s heartening to know these men and women “have our back” when the situation calls for it. Thank you.
Now, for today’s topic.
I’ve said many times in this space that improving clinical quality is our number one strategic priority, and that continues to be true. But ensuring the quality of our services does not stop at the clinical enterprise. The best example of that: Accreditation.
That reality has been driven home this week with the visit to our School of Medicine by members of the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, the accrediting body for medical schools in the United States and Canada. From the LCME site visit team’s arrival Sunday morning until the team’s exit interview Wednesday afternoon, we have been on our toes, watching our Ps and Qs, ready to run down the answer to any question that might be asked about our medical education program and all facets of the organization that impact it. This includes everything from IT support, institutional finances, the clinical learning environment, faculty scholarly activity and development, our diversity initiatives and outcomes to our strategic planning process. To name a few.
In my role as dean of the School of Medicine, I’m particularly focused on our LCME accreditation. But the fact is, the medical school is just one planet in a universe of accreditation that the educational components of an academic medical center must accommodate. The LCME is but one of 14 accrediting entities that certify the quality of our schools and their major degree programs. The largest of these is our overall institutional accreditation by the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges Commission on Colleges. In the education mission, there are many more accrediting entities for our residency programs, our continuing health professional education programs and other educational offerings we provide. In the clinical domain, the Joint Commission is our primary accreditor, but there are many others for different functions of the hospital such as our pathology labs. Many separate clinical programs – such as stroke and chest pain – strive for accreditation in their fields. In the research mission, accreditors for our laboratory animal research programs and our clinical research programs are mainstays, along with a number of government regulatory agencies that serve an oversight function.
The work of accreditation is challenging, often tedious and not particularly glamorous. Much of it occurs behind the scenes. But it is vital. It’s an opportunity to hold a mirror up to our educational programs and give them an honest appraisal in relation to agreed-upon national standards of quality. Equally important, we invite outside experts to take a look and share their assessment of our programs – where we’re strong and how we might improve.
In the School of Medicine’s case, the intense few days that encompass an accreditation site visit are the culmination of years of preparation that literally began the day after the medical school was last accredited in 2012. We did very well on our last review, with no areas of noncompliance, which is unusual. But the final report always reveals areas where we can improve, and the work on those begins immediately.
The LCME has 12 broad standards of compliance that encompass 93 elements. All of them are important, but some are more crucial than others. We pay special attention to what I call the “bones” of accreditation: faculty, curriculum, students and resources. We conduct a massive self-study of every element and our students administer their own expansive survey rating every conceivable feature of their experience here. I’m pleased and proud that more than 99 percent of the SOM student body participated in the survey.
At times it can seem like a paper chase, but the ultimate goal is admirable. Despite the fact that every medical school is different, our common standards ensure all medical schools produce physician graduates who possess the clinical competence, cognitive abilities and emotional intelligence to be successful anywhere. Period.
By all accounts, we had a great site visit. We won’t know the final results for a few months, but I am cautiously optimistic we will fare well. There’s a large cast to thank, but special recognition goes to medical school Vice Dean Dr. Loretta Jackson-Williams, Education Quality Improvement Director Dr. Lecretia Buckley, Associate Dean for Student Affairs Dr. Jerry Clark, and Executive Director for Academic Effectiveness in Academic Affairs Dr. Mitzi Norris. A big “shout out” also goes to facilities, Campus Police, and Cathy Taylor and her team in catering for keeping things running smoothly and the troops well-fed.
Accreditation is our equivalent of the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. It certifies to all that we have done the hard work to make our educational programs the best they can be, another one of those never-ending tasks on our journey toward A Healthier Mississippi.
