Dean's Corner: LCME Self Study Completed
In preparation for our upcoming LCME site visit, the school underwent a rigorous self-study with participation from nearly 200 faculty, students, residents, administrative staff, and hospital partners. Dr. Robin English led the self-study that took approximately 18 months to complete. In mid-July, thousands of pages of reports, data tables, policies, and other documents were submitted to the LCME for their review prior to our site visit in October.
The self-study allowed review of all aspects of the school’s operations, including our policies, curriculum, finances, facilities, faculty, leadership, and our relationships with partnering hospitals and the community. It also provided an opportunity to reflect on and document our many strengths in a Summary Report to the LCME. The state of the school is excellent, and we would like to share some of the school’s key strengths as determined by the self-study task force.
- Our mission of service to the state and community remains strong: Service remains a core value and an important part of our school culture. Our longstanding tradition of excellent patient care across Southern Louisiana, with particular attention to the state’s most vulnerable populations, runs deep through all that we do. We are the leading training institution for our state’s physician workforce, and we address the healthcare needs for the state through specific programs that target shortage areas. Our research is also focused on the needs of the population we serve, and it capitalizes on the expertise of interdisciplinary groups of investigators and clinicians.
- A successful multi-campus program: Our three integrated campuses help us meet the state’s physician workforce needs, with faculty from the Baton Rouge and Lafayette regional campuses contributing to the educational program throughout all four years of the curriculum. All campuses have reputations for outstanding education.
- Stable leadership: The chancellor and dean have held LSU leadership positions in the past, and they have developed strong working relationships with our clinical partners and with other schools within the state and withing the health sciences center. The associate and assistant deans in the school have worked together in various capacities over time and have also established good working relationships. These relationships have led to continued program improvement, growth, and financial stability.
- Strong financial status: The school benefits from stable revenue streams and steady growth. Our relationship with our clinical partners adds to this strength. The anticipated new contract with LCMC Health will provide even more stability for our clinical faculty and enhanced support for our core missions. Our strong financial status is further evidenced by raises for faculty and staff in each of the last four years; stable tuition for the last ten years; increased tuition waivers for students in need or in specialized programs; and the dedication of financial resources to build our educational and research enterprises. Our financial stability should allow us to meet the goals of our strategic plan.
- A strong educational program with coordinated and collaborative oversight and management: A central Curriculum Steering Committee incorporates and coordinates faculty and student perspectives. Continuous quality improvement (CQI) processes and multi-source feedback drive constant curriculum refinement that has resulted in an integrated and coordinated pre-clerkship phase, followed by a clerkship phase that builds on the students’ foundational knowledge and skills.
- A highly committed and engaged student body: Our students continue to be among our greatest strengths. Our holistic admissions approach ensures that our student body is comprised of enthusiastic future physicians who demonstrate concern for the most vulnerable populations. Our students are highly engaged in community service – such as the Student Run Community Clinics and Camp Tiger. The Aesculapian Society, which serves as a liaison between students and faculty members in the interest of continuous course and curriculum improvement, is a testament to the student-faculty relationship.
- Faculty dedicated to student success: The basic science and clinical faculty are dedicated educators who engage with students in a variety of curricular and extracurricular settings, and who strive for continuous improvement. The coordinated program of academic advising in the Office of Student Affairs is augmented by faculty who are available to students for any curriculum concerns. The strong and supportive relationship between our students and faculty is a critical component of our school’s culture, and we highlight this expectation when recruiting faculty.
- Institutional investment in teaching and faculty development for education and advancement: The school dedicates significant resources to faculty development initiatives and to protect time for teachers, educational leaders, and student advisors. Additionally, the recently revised faculty promotion guidelines recognize the many ways that faculty add value to the school.
- Investment in facilities: The school’s significant investments in facilities and infrastructure over the past ten years allow it to meet strategic goals. The two most notable campus improvements are the renovation of a former hospital to become the CALS building and the complete renovation and modernization of laboratory and office space on the top three floors of the MEB. The TBL classroom and the renovated meeting space in the Lion’s Building are further evidence of investment in facilities to meet our core missions.
- Strong relationships with local and regional clinical partners: School and hospital system leaders work together on important standing committees and through administrative roles in the hospitals. Department heads and other senior faculty members hold many hospital service line leadership positions in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Lafayette. Our effective relationship with LCMC is further evidenced by the anticipated new contract which will support enhanced physician compensation and funds flow for mission support. In addition, our clinical partners have worked closely with us to provide facilities improvements at UMCNO, OLOL, and Children’s, creating a better clinical working environment for education and faculty practice.
Although no organization can escape challenges, a final key strength is our ability to acknowledge our challenges and to develop strategies to address them. Our self-study also indicated some areas of low student satisfaction (student debt and financial aid services, career advising, working space at some of our partnering hospitals, and a few of our basic science courses). Through our ongoing monitoring of student outcomes, we were already aware of these challenges, and we have already taken concrete steps to address them.
Overall, the self-study confirmed what we all know – we provide excellent training to our learners and excellent care to our patients. The LSU School of Medicine is well positioned for growth in our clinical and research enterprises. We have outstanding faculty, staff and learners who are committed to our mission and who live up to our core values. We thank those of you who contributed to the self-study, and we thank all of you for continually striving for excellence.
Richard DiCarlo, MD
Dean, LSU School of Medicine
Robin English, MD
Associate Dean for UME