The University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine celebrated its recent accreditation, the highest level of accreditation available to a medical school in the United States by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), on Tuesday, Jan. 10.
“LCME accreditation is a critical marker of excellence for one of our school’s essential missions: educating the next generation of physicians and scientists,” said Anupam Agarwal, M.D., interim senior vice president for Medicine and dean of the Heersink School of Medicine, during his opening remarks at the reception. “It is an important way we hold our school and our medical education program to the highest possible standards.”
The school’s leadership, faculty, staff, and collaborators came together at the reception to celebrate the culmination of a two-year process of data collection, self-reflection, and preparation: eight more years of accreditation.
“It is a remarkable achievement, one made all the more momentous as it was managed during an unprecedented worldwide pandemic that impacted every participant, from our students to our educators to our leadership,” said Liz Rahn, Ph.D., LCME site visit coordinator and executive director of Operations and Quality Improvement in the Department of Medical Education. “This process reminded me of why I am so proud to work at UAB. Our institution hires extraordinary people, passionate educators, and visionary leaders who work together to provide our students with an exceptional education.”
Agarwal’s remarks were followed by speeches from Craig Hoesley, M.D., senior associate dean for Medical Education, and faculty accreditation co-leads Cathy Fuller, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, and Gustavo Heudebert, M.D., professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine. All are members of the LCME Executive Committee.
“We greatly appreciated the opportunity to celebrate our recent full LCME reaccreditation for an eight-year cycle,” said Hoesley. “Our team responsible for preparing for the LCME site visit in April 2022 included dozens of faculty and students as well as our LCME Executive Committee and faculty co-leads. This group worked tirelessly for two years, and their effort, engagement, and enthusiasm, coupled with the uniform support of Drs. Vickers, Agarwal, and the dean’s leadership team, allowed for this successful result.”
