Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine Re-Accredited for 8 Years

Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine (OUWB) has been re-accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education for 8 years, the maximum time possible.

Duane Mezwa, M.D., Stephan Sharf Interim Dean, OUWB, and chief academic officer, William Beaumont Hospital, made the announcement.

“It is with extreme pride that I share with you that OUWB has been granted eight years of accreditation, the maximum amount of time that can be awarded, from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME),” Mezwa said.

LCME accreditation is important to OUWB as it allows students to be eligible to take the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) exams and apply for residency through the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

LCME accreditation also provides medical schools eligibility for select federal grants.

“OUWB has been a successful partnership between Oakland University and Beaumont Health,” said David Wood, M.D., executive vice president and chief medical officer, Beaumont Health. “LCME reaccreditation is a testament to the excellence of the medical school as well as the type of physicians we are training and sending into communities.”

OUWB initially received full accreditation on February 20, 2015. It was effective for five years.

The re-accreditation process officially began last June with an “OUWB self-study.”

The comprehensive process consisted of an OUWB Task Force and several subcommittees — comprised of students, faculty and staff — that thoroughly examined OUWB’s medical school education program and identified strategic resources, strengths, and areas for improvement.

The process continued in late July with a mock LCME site visit. During the mock event, LCME consultants visited OUWB and critiqued the school on each of the areas that the subcommittees examined, providing constructive feedback for the official visit in September.

Mezwa said that overall, re-accreditation is an accomplishment the entire OUWB community can take pride in as it looks ahead in its continuing evolution as a medical school.

“It is a tremendous achievement to know that OUWB is compliant and has once again met the standards that accredit medical education programs which lead to the M.D. degree,” he said.