June 1, 2010

Where has 2010 gone? Here it’s the beginning of June, and what excitement we have within the College of Medicine. I want to mention three developments to you in this issue:

First, our charter class – the Class of 2013 – has just finished its first academic year. It seems like just yesterday was August 3, 2009 when our first 41 students matriculated and were honored at our first White Coat Ceremony. Recently, those students took the National Board of Medical Examiner’s Comprehensive Exam for a third time and we – students and faculty – are excited to see their continued progress.

Second, we are filling moving bins and wooden crates with files and books in anticipation of our move to the new Medical Education Building at Lake Nona. As of June 10, our keys will be turned in and the doors closed at the College of Medicine’s temporary University Tower location; five days later, the College of Nursing will begin to occupy the space.

Third, amidst all of these exciting changes – plus revising the first-year curriculum and creating second- year coursework that begins in August – we are also completing the database for our LCME provisional accreditation. The Site Team will be visiting in February 2011. There are a number of schools going through the process for provisional accreditation this year (UCF, Florida International University, Texas Tech and The Commonwealth Medical College) and probably twice this number for preliminary accreditation. Any new medical education program must follow certain steps for LCME accreditation. In February 2008, the LCME deemed UCF ready to admit a charter class by granting our medical school preliminary accreditation. This allowed us to matriculate the first class. Our program will now be reconsidered for provisional accreditation as we develop and have additional resources in place. If all goes well with this visit, we will undergo a full survey visit in the fourth year (late 2012 or early 2013) of the charter class’ progression. If at that time, our self study and corresponding documentation indicate to the LCME’s satisfaction that the UCF College of Medicine meets all accreditation standards – about 130 in total – the program will be granted full accreditation. After that, the accreditation visits will occur in another approximately eight years.

For our upcoming provisional accreditation, the LCME does expect us to have many elements in place, including institutional organization, educational programs, medical student processes and faculty and educational resources. Further details about this process can be gleamed from the AAMC web site under LCME requirements.

So, you can see that much is happening with our students, the move to Lake Nona and our upcoming accreditation visit. These accomplishments would not have been possible without your continued efforts in all we do. Thank you so much!

Best regards,

Dick ‘PEP’ Peppler, Ph.D.