uSask med school accreditation in doubt, says president

University of Saskatchewan president Ilene Busch-Vishniac says the institution's medical school may not have changed quickly enough to stop it from facing probation. A team from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) will be in Saskatchewan next month for a follow-up visit. In 2011, the LCME put the College of Medicine on a "warning of probation" if it did not make changes. That warning prompted uSask officials to propose a restructuring plan for the college, which the university's council approved in principle in December. "We are now working like the dickens to move forward," says Busch-Vishniac, but she worries uSask will not have made enough progress by the time accreditors come in March. When they visit, they will see the institution has ideas about how to make changes, but none of those changes has taken place, Busch-Vishniac says, and that may not be enough to avoid probation. Saskatoon Star-Phoenix

Postscript: May 5, 2013

The Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS) did not discuss the University of Saskatchewan’s medical school accreditation status at its most recent meeting, although it was on the agenda. The school received a warning of probation from the CACMS and the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) due to multiple instances of noncompliance with accreditation standards. uSask has begun a restructuring program for the med school in order to address the issues. The CACMS could decide to continue the warning of probation, place the school on probation, or restore full accreditation. The next meeting is scheduled for fall 2013. Saskatoon StarPhoenix