Meharry Medical College’s medical degree program is under probation, after its graduate medical education program went on probation at the beginning of the year. The historically Black medical college sent out an email to students, faculty and staff on Nov. 9 about the latest probation, which was handed down from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, an accrediting body for medical schools.
Dr. Jeanette South-Paul
“We’re disappointed,” Dr. Jeannette South-Paul, Meharry senior vice president and chief academic officer, tells Scene sister publication the Nashville Post.
After a site visit in March, the LCME found several areas of concern. In evaluating 12 standards, the LCME took issue with the school not having enough reliable broadband internet access, classroom space and study spaces for students. The committee also asked the college to work on filling leadership roles currently held by interim appointees.
LCME also wants to see Meharry establish online portals for students to quickly access financial aid information and provide more scholarship assistance. Meharry also must ensure that students hear back from school counselors within 30 days.
Five years ago, Meharry introduced a new curriculum, which still needs to have assessments completed, according to South-Paul.
“There are issues related to how we organize and assess the curriculum,” South-Paul says. “Everyone knows that an academic institution has to have a written curriculum. ... COVID happened in the middle of all this. ... We hadn't completed all of the assessments at different stages since the new curriculum was launched to meet accreditation standards.”
LCME also found opportunities for a range of clinical practice experiences lacking. That means the 146-year-old Meharry will continue to look beyond longtime partner and neighbor Nashville General Hospital for such opportunities for students, South-Paul says. Nashville General is currently looking to move from its campus adjacent to Meharry.
“We're in a health care capital of the country,” she says. “There are a lot of moving parts here to stay competitive. And one of those things is getting the clinical opportunities that we need for our students.”
LCME also requires that colleges have opportunities for lifelong learning, as the medical field can change rapidly.
“I sometimes say the drugs that I use in practice now, I didn't study in medical school,” South-Paul says. “They didn't exist. Some of the diagnoses I never studied. So we recognize that to have a population of students who will be 21st-century clinicians, we have to give them the skills to be lifelong learners.”
In the email to students, faculty and staff, president and CEO James Hildreth says, “Probationary status does not impact our medical degree program’s accreditation nor your degrees and futures. This program is still accredited, and our day-to-day operations and classes will continue as normal.”
LCME declined to comment on the details of the process and directed the Post to a program directory site that was not yet updated. The only other college listed as being on probation via the LCME’s website nationally is the California Northstate University College of Medicine.
South-Paul estimates that the LCME will come back to reevaluate in 18 months, marking about two years total between the first and second visits. When a college is put on probation, it has six months to implement a plan to rectify the concerns, and the accrediting organization would want to see that plan in action for a year before reevaluating, according to South-Paul. Typically, the LCME only visits a medical college every seven to 10 years.
On Jan. 21, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education put the Meharry School of Medicine graduate medical program on probation. In an announcement, Meharry did not disclose the reasons for the probation. The ACGME indicated to Meharry it would return for a follow-up review in August. (After publication, Meharry said probation has been lifted for the graduate medical program.)
Adds Hildreth in a statement: “No one is more important to Meharry than our students, and we will overcome this challenge as we have all others — with drive and focus. We will take this opportunity to grow, learn and make our degree program even stronger, and we are grateful for the continued support of our community.”
This article first ran via our sister publication, the Nashville Post.
