Full Survey Visits
As outlined in Rules of Procedure, fully accredited medical education programs are reviewed every eight years solely to determine compliance with LCME accreditation standards and to ensure that medical education programs conform to commonly accepted academic standards related to the educational process. Exceptions to the eight-year review are: 1) schools that move from provisional to full accreditation must have a full review five years after the initial award of full accreditation, and 2) schools that have a review (status report, limited survey visit, etc.) that are deemed needing a full survey earlier or later than the eight-year term based on findings from that review. All full survey visits are in-person. Programs preparing for a full survey should refer to Guidelines for the Planning and Conduct of Accreditation Survey Visits. This document provides the steps before, during, and after the visit. If you have questions about any of the information, please email the Secretariat at lcme@aamc.org.
Self-study Kick-off Event
When schools begin to prepare for the self-study, they can choose to hold a “self-study kick-off” workshop involving the faculty and staff who will need to be engaged during the accreditation review process. Members of the LCME Secretariat can participate in these workshops to provide a general overview of the process, focus on areas of concern from previous visits, and take questions from the various self-study groups. Secretariat availability is based on timing, and schools are encouraged to contact the LCME Secretariat early in the process to ensure that an LCME Secretariat staff member can attend. Requests should be sent to lcme@aamc.org.
LCME Webinars and the Survey Prep Workshop
The LCME Secretariat offers the below sessions for schools preparing for survey visits. Designated survey personnel will automatically receive invitations to these events and are encouraged to attend.
- LCME Connecting with the Secretariat Webinars: January through October, the LCME Secretariat offers monthly Connecting with the Secretariat webinars that provide general information about accreditation and the self-study process and give participants an opportunity to discuss specific issues with members of the Secretariat. For details and registration information, visit the Connecting with the Secretariat webinar page.
- LCME Survey Prep Workshop: Approximately 18 months prior to the school’s full survey visit, the LCME Secretariat hosts a one-day, in-person Survey Prep Workshop that provides information about self-study preparation, survey visit logistics, the independent student analysis (ISA), and LCME standards and elements. For details and registration information, visit the Survey Prep Workshop page.
Submitting the Survey Package to the LCME
The school will submit its final survey package 12 weeks* before the survey visit date. The survey package is sent via the Web Transfer Client (WTC) system. The school will receive an email from LCME Secretariat staff four weeks before the survey package is due with WTC account access and instructions for uploading files. The LCME Secretariat staff will ensure that each survey team member receives the school’s submitted survey package. Refer to Guidelines for the Planning and Conduct of Accreditation Survey Visits and if you have additional questions about survey package content and deadlines, or formatting and submission, please email lcmesubmissions@aamc.org.
*Starting with AY 2024-25 visits, the survey package will be due 14 weeks before the survey visit date.