Originally posted by gower
Calm down. Temporary loss of medical school accreditation is fairly common, permanent loss almost unheard of. It is a way to to push the schools to make some changes. No medical school, unless it really wants to go out of business, is going to ignore the warning shot across its bows,
Temple med school is first U.S. program on probation in 9 years
By PATRICK WALTERS Associated Press Writer
PHILADELPHIA (AP) _ Aspiring doctors applying to Temple University's medical school will now find out more than just the basics on surgery programs, the Hippocratic oath and the latest MRI machines when they pore over the school's literature.
They'll also discover that Temple is one of only three medical schools in the country in 15 years to be put on probation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, the step before losing accreditation entirely.
The committee is responsible for accrediting medical schools in the United States, and is comprised of representatives of the American Medical Association and the Association of American Medical Colleges. In June, it decided to put Temple's medical program on probation, a decision upheld on appeal last week.
"It's not a step taken lightly. It's not a slap on the wrist," said Dr. Frank Simon, the secretary for the committee appointed by the AMA.
Schools are required to notify students and applicants of changes in accreditation status, and it can affect recruitment and retention.
The maximum time a school can remain on probation is four years, and it can get off probation at any time if concerns are met, Simon said. Each time the liaison committee goes out for a visit, it can make another decision on accreditation.
Temple, a state-related university in North Philadelphia, said the concerns at its medical school were over aging facilities and student financial-aid issues.
Marina Ramos, an assistant with the accreditation committee, said that only two other schools have been put on probation in the past 15 years; without accreditation, schools can't teach students.
The Universidad Central Del Caribe in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, was put on probation in October 1994 and taken off in February 2000, while the Ponce School of Medicine in Ponce, Puerto Rico went on probation in December 1994 and was taken off in February 1999, Ramos said.
Dr. John M. Daly, the dean of Temple's medical school, said committee officials visited the school nearly a year ago, when the school didn't have a plan in place to upgrade its buildings; most are about 30 years old and one dates back to 1920.
The committee had been talking with Temple about the need for facilities improvements for some time, Daly said.
"It is my belief that the LCME finally said, 'We are going to hold your feet to the fire,"' Daly said, who became dean in November and was involved in unsuccessful appeals in January and February.
Since the review, the medical school, which relies more on private funds than state funds, has put plans in place for a $150 million facilities overhaul, and also plans to reduce its annual class size from the current level of 190.
Though the accreditation committee declined to say what financial aid improvements it sought, medical school officials said the committee wanted Temple to reduce the amount of debt carried by its graduates.
That's a challenge because Temple often admits students who aren't from the highest economic brackets, Daly said.
Temple students have $123,000 in debt when they leave school, about the national average, Daly said. The school continues looking for money to improve its financial aid programs, he said.
The liaison committee threatened the University of Hawaii's John A. Burns School of Medicine with probation last year, but the school's appeal was upheld in October.
"Their principle concern was with finances," said the school's vice dean, Dr. T. Samuel Shomaker, whose small medical school has just 62 students in this year's class and about 200 faculty members.
Shomaker said his school presented the committee with commitments from the state for more money to go toward filling 30 vacant faculty positions and making $150 million in improvements to the campus.
"We used that as evidence that the state really is committed to the future of the medical school," Shomaker said.
Shomaker said the accreditation groups should take into account that in tough economic times and the great need for doctors.
"We're starting to face this serious physician shortage on one hand, yet they're threatening to close medical schools on the other hand," Shomaker said.
Although Temple was unable to avoid probation, Daly thinks it could end up having positive effects, along with the negative ones.
"Will it deter some students? Yes, I think it will deter some," he said. "But I think it will help accelerate the process of facility building."
