Preliminary Accreditation...what does that mean

[bluecabinet]

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http://www.lcme.org/newschoolprocess.htm

So I looking to apply to some of the newly opened med schools this year..

Though I must tread carefully because they seem to only have "preliminary" accreditation..

What does this mean exactly? This is a huge issue if there is a potential turning your MD degree into a worthless paper weight...

What do you guys advise?

 

[LizzyM]

http://www.lcme.org/newschoolprocess.htm

So I looking to apply to some of the newly opened med schools this year..

Though I must tread carefully because they seem to only have "preliminary" accreditation..

What does this mean exactly? This is a huge issue if there is a potential turning your MD degree into a worthless paper weight...

What do you guys advise?

Accreditation is preliminary while a school is educating its first class. I don't know the exact procedure but in general a school would do a lot of paperwork and have a site visit when the first group of students reach 4th year and the decision to accredit the school would be made.

Like accreditation of hospitals (anyone been through a Joint Commission inspection), it is a carrot to get institutions to do as they should rather than a stick to punish those who are deficient.

 

[bluecabinet]

Accreditation is preliminary while a school is educating its first class. I don't know the exact procedure but in general a school would do a lot of paperwork and have a site visit when the first group of students reach 4th year and the decision to accredit the school would be made.

Like accreditation of hospitals (anyone been through a Joint Commission inspection), it is a carrot to get institutions to do as they should rather than a stick to punish those who are deficient.

So is it a huge gamble to become a student before they acquire full accreditation?

 

[LizzyM]

So is it a huge gamble to become a student before they acquire full accreditation?

It is a small gamble. Very small.

It is in everyone's best interest (faculty, staff, administration, board of trustees, students, community leaders) to have the school accredited. No one benefits from a failure to obtain accreditation. So, when the site visitors and accrediting body say jump, everyone in unison responds "how high" and then they attempt to meet or exceed every expectation.

If a school has a deficiency, they may be put on probation so that they can have a little time to develop a plan to correct the deficiency and many times, as long as the plan seems reasonable and a good faith effort is being made, the school is going to be accredited. An example would be the school that was cited not too long ago for a failure to have diversity in the faculty and student body.

I think that the bigger gamble going into a brand new school is having a feeling that you are on the medical school equivalent of the shakedown cruise. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakedown_cruise

 

[sector9]

So is it a huge gamble to become a student before they acquire full accreditation?

It is not a huge gamble. Any school, whether they are on preliminary, provisional, or full accreditation, will be placed on probation before accreditation is revoked. Schools that have been around for decades are currently on probation (SUNY Upstate, UTHSCSA, etc) and are technically closer to being closed than a school on preliminary accreditation. Schools on probation still operate and can still graduate students

 

[LizzyM]

Netter is a new school and it is crowing about it's first 2 matches:
Inaugural medical school class celebrates Match Day with family, friends | Quinnipiac Now
School of Medicine celebrates second straight perfect match | Quinnipiac Now

 

[Goro]

So is it a huge gamble to become a student before they acquire full accreditation?

One of the challenges of going to a new school is that it takes time for the Faculty (even seasoned Faculty) to gel on curriculum content and delivery. Thus, you need to be even more of a good self-learner.

New schools are great for people who like to take part in pioneering endeavors. There are people who like building things.

 

[Med Ed]

What does this mean exactly?

The normal process:
Preliminary accreditation - required to open. The LCME has reasonable faith that the school will succeed, and is ready to take students through years 1-2.
Provisional accreditation - given a couple of years in. The school has been successful with years 1-2 and is ready to transition students into years 3-4.
Full accreditation - granted right before the first class graduates.

Most people in the new school realm will tell you that preliminary is the hardest to achieve, because the fallout of a school closing after that point would be horrendous. In the last 20 years there has been exactly one school which did not have a normal accreditation process after getting preliminary: TCMC (now Geisinger). The root of their trouble was financial, as the new PA governor yanked state funding around the time of the Great Recession. But the school stayed open, graduated doctors, eventually got bought out, and is now on solid footing.