- Wayne State School of Medicine became one of about eight U.S. med schools to go on probation in 2015
- One accreditation violation was not having enough under-represented minority students enrolled
- Detroit med school now fully accredited by the Liaison Committe on Medical Education
Wayne State University School of Medicine received notification Thursday that it received full accreditation through the 2023 school year from Chicago-based Liaison Committee on Medical Education, the accrediting body for North American medical schools.
In 2015, Wayne State’s medical school initially was placed on probation, and later granted an accreditation warning and given two years to correct 12 violations in standards. Standard shortcomings included lack of recruiting sufficient minority students, lack of adequate space for a student lounge and auditorium and violations of duty hours for clinical clerkships at hospitals for internal medicine, surgery and obstetrics and gynecology.
LCME also found Wayne State’s medical curriculum lacked time for independent study and offered too many multiple-choice exams for students in their first two years.
After hiring several new medical school administrators, including Richard Baker, vice dean of medical education, Wayne State improved its shortcomings.
“This achievement — the result of untold hours of commitment by many of our faculty, students staff and administrators — is worthy of celebration and congratulations,” Dean Jack Sobel, M.D., said in a statement. “Throughout this process we have adopted and engaged in a culture of continuous quality improvement, and that will continue. We are committed to a process of continuous review that strives to provide the highest quality education through the most effective means.”
One of its most serious shortcomings was also one of its most embarrassing ones for the Detroit medical school.
The LCME’s initial report noted that the incoming class in 2014 contained just five African-American students, two Hispanic/Latino students and a total of 43 students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. There were no Native American students. These are four categories are identified by the Association of American Medical Colleges as segments underrepresented in medicine.
However, WSU said this year’s class includes 33 African-American students, 25 Hispanic/Latino students, five Native American students and 65 students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
In a statement by a third-year medical student, Brian Sullivan, who was on the LCME steering committee: “Student participation in assessment and planning brings intangibles to an institution like transparency and accountability. Student input is highly relevant, and keeps our institution abreast of the cultural and technological shifts that are perpetually ongoing in a city like Detroit.
LCME accredits 134 American medical schools.