By Doug Nadvornick, College of Medicine
SPOKANE, Wash. – The Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine has been granted “candidate” status by its accrediting agency, which will send representatives to visit Washington State University Spokane this spring or summer.
This step toward accreditation comes after a review of foundational documents submitted by the college in December to the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), which is the national accrediting agency for allopathic medical schools in the U.S. and Canada.
The date of the site visit will be announced soon.
“WSU continues to make progress on our commitment to increase the number of doctors serving the people of this state, especially in underserved communities,” said Daniel J. Bernardo, interim president. “Improving access, in this case to healthcare, is part of WSU’s land-grant mission. Moreover, Dr. Floyd would be pleased to see his vision moving closer to fulfillment.”
John Tomkowiak, founding dean of the college, said, “This is a great first step and one in a series of important milestones in the accreditation process. We have a lot to do between now and the site visit, but I’m confident that our team will be able to demonstrate that the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine stands for excellence,”
“Our work now shifts to the next phase of the accreditation process,” said WSU Spokane Chancellor Lisa Brown. “We want to ensure we are prepared to answer any questions the LCME team may have about our plans for the medical school.”
During the site visit the LCME team will discuss plans, see facilities and ask questions. It will make a report to the full board of the LCME, which will decide on whether to grant WSU the preliminary accreditation status it needs to begin recruiting students.
Students in the college will engage in their preliminary studies mostly on the WSU Spokane campus. Once they enter their more intensive training they will be assigned to one of WSU’s clinical campuses in Spokane, Tri-Cities, Vancouver or Everett.
Contact:
Doug Nadvornick, WSU College of Medicine, 509-358-7540, doug.nadvornick@wsu.edu
