Accreditation
At the University of Kansas School of Medicine, the most important thing we do is educate the next generation of physicians. This work is an honor and a privilege, and it comes with enormous responsibilities. That's why accrediting bodies regularly visit our campus to make sure our educational programs meet the high standards that our graduates will need to become licensed in their fields.
The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) is a three-step examination for medical licensure in the U.S. Recent pass rates for the KU medical student body can be found here.
The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) is the accrediting body for medical education programs in the United States and Canada. Once every eight years, the M.D. program undergoes a rigorous review process that culminates in a survey team site visit. Our most recent site visit took place October 4-6, 2021, resulting in full accreditation of the medical education program for another 8-year term. Our next full survey is scheduled for academic year 2029-2030.
The LCME publication, “Function and Structure of a Medical School,” details the expectations for medical education program performance to achieve accreditation. The document, which is updated annually, is available for download from the LCME website. Element 1.1 describes the LCME's expectations regarding strategic planning and continuous quality improvement to ensure we maintain compliance with standards between full surveys:
Element 1.1: Strategic Planning and Continuous Quality Improvement
A medical school engages in ongoing strategic planning and continuous quality improvement processes that establish its short and long-term programmatic goals, result in the achievement of measurable outcomes that are used to improve educational program quality, and ensure effective monitoring of the medical education program's compliance with accreditation standards.
- from "Functions and Structure of a Medical School" (March 2022)
In alignment with the spirit of that element, the University of Kansas School of Medicine Executive Dean's Office developed the Office of Continuous Quality Improvement in 2018. The CQI office partners closely with all offices supporting the M.D. program as well as the Education Council and Phase I and Phase II Curriculum Oversight Subcommittees in support of their continuous cycle of developing, organizing implementing, reviewing and revising the curriculum.