Last month, I had the privilege of welcoming a team of experienced medical educators to campus for our mock LCME survey visit. Over two days, they met with faculty, staff, students and residents across every part of our college.
I could not be prouder of what they saw.
The team’s overall assessment was strongly positive. Across everything they reviewed, the overwhelming majority reflected a program that is well organized, well documented and committed to continuous improvement. They specifically noted how impressed they were with our mission alignment, and with our ability to identify concerns raised by students and demonstrate real, measurable improvement in response.
The mock team’s chair, who has led dozens of these visits over his career, said he had never met a group of residents so genuinely committed to our institution’s mission. Many of those residents are our own graduates — students who came through our program and chose to stay and continue to train here.
To me, that says something important about the work we do. And it's a direct reflection of the sustained dedication of our faculty to building a learning environment that students want to return to, year after year.
The visit also reminded us that no one person can know every detail of a program this large. We identified a few places where our answers could be sharper and more consistent, heading into October. We are already working on those together — refining explanations, making sure the right information reaches the right people and closing small gaps before the survey visit.
I am deeply grateful to everyone who sat down with the team, answered honestly and represented our college so well. Whatever role you played, know that it mattered.
We head into October with real confidence. There is still work to do, but this visit gave us a lot to feel good about. Most of all, it reminded me how fortunate I am to work alongside so many people who care deeply about this place and the people we serve.
- Dean Chipper Griffith, M.D.