Putting accreditation on the faculty retreat agenda – why and how
Lois Margaret Nora, MD, JD, MBA
It’s common during the summer months and the early weeks of fall for medical schools to host annual educational retreats for faculty – both those who are employed and those who teach on a voluntary basis. These events provide a chance for attendees to connect and share information. They also provide an opportunity for leaders from across the school to express appreciation for the invaluable work done by faculty, bring attendees up-to-date on what’s new at the school, and provide faculty development opportunities.
A recent discussion about planning content for such a retreat reminded me that these gatherings offer a wonderful opportunity to help faculty learn more about LCME accreditation. Members of the faculty may not be aware of the ways in which accreditation expectations affect their work. For example, a school faces real challenges from an accreditation perspective if narrative feedback is not provided or if evaluations are not submitted in a timely manner. Drawing a link between policies for student assessment and accreditation can help faculty understand the importance of following those policies. It can also help convey how expectations that may feel picky or onerous have real importance for the institution.
This is where the leadership of accreditation professionals comes in. While accreditation is never far from the minds of those who deal with these processes regularly, it takes work to keep it on radars across the school and beyond high-profile periods like site visits. Talking with faculty about the role they play in accreditation and its importance to the school is one step in the right direction. And retreats, with their collegial atmosphere and attention to learning, may be just the right environment.
Integrating accreditation into retreat content plans
As retreat planners consider how to integrate accreditation into learning, it may help to draw cues from the accreditation cycle itself. Schools that are embarking on a self-study are at a very different place from schools that are years away from reaccreditation. The treatment of accreditation topics in retreat curricula should be adapted accordingly. Here are a few thoughts that may inspire ideas for your planning:
Considerations for schools in a self-study
If a school is poised to begin a self-study, consider focusing the entire retreat around this process. Start by explaining how the school is accredited and outlining the timing and benchmarks involved (document submission, site visit timing, etc.) It can be worthwhile to review past accreditation challenges, along with unique aspects of the school that may draw questions from the site visitors, such as distributed campuses or past issues with the learning environment. Breakout groups can explore specific areas within student support, diversity, faculty affairs, and the educational program. Involving key committee chairs and members can reinforce the importance of these discussions.
When schools are in the middle of the self-study process, consider sharing early findings from the process and discussing actions being taken to address these findings. Accreditation professionals can present topics themselves, but often this information is best presented by the faculty leaders and area administrators who work directly in these areas.
Discussions about accreditation can help prepare faculty for conversations with the site visit team by helping them understand what they may be asked about and related expectations for compliance. These discussions also allow medical education professionals to draw a clear line between the everyday work of faculty and the accreditation process. And, importantly, they may open the door to a broader discussion of continuous quality improvement (CQI). The actions of noting red flags through student feedback, GQ and ISA responses or other sources; considering possible changes and then implementing them; and defining how the institution will follow up on outcomes are powerful illustrations of CQI. Underscoring this message may help foster the collaboration needed for accreditation – and for improving the quality of medical education at your institution.
Considerations for midcycle schools
Although accreditation is a common topic of concern at schools that are working on a self-study, most schools are elsewhere in the accreditation cycle. While it can be tempting to set compliance considerations aside after reaccreditation is achieved, there are plenty of midcycle tasks — CQI; ensuring policies and procedures are up-to-date; and building systems to support compliance — that are important and worthy of discussion at any point in the cycle.
Including an accreditation component in all annual retreats allows for review of this ongoing work. Doing so also keeps accreditation top of mind. New expectations and standards, feedback about progress addressing past findings, and a conversation about the school’s CQI processes are all worthy topics for discussion.
There are numerous possible approaches realizing these ideas. Consider planning a short, focused session that covers accreditation “highlights.” Conversely, accreditation could be woven throughout the retreat by asking all speakers to take a few minutes to provide an update within their area of focus (e.g., student support, faculty affairs, curriculum, etc.) Or, for retreats with a specific theme, look for ways in which that theme intersects with accreditation to inspire ideas.
Schools should pursue the approach that makes the most sense for their retreat and their institution. However they proceed, they will derive great value from involving the school’s accreditation professionals in retreat planning. The unique lens brought by accreditation professionals is about more than preparing the school to do what is necessary for compliance. It’s also about helping the school leverage the LCME standards and processes for improving the quality of medical education at the institution.
Underscoring the value of accreditation, and the accreditation professional
At MSAG, we believe continual reinforcement of the value and principles of accreditation keeps the standards front and center at the school and enhances the quality of the education it provides.
Keeping accreditation top of mind also helps integrate accreditation professionals into the life of the school. As accreditation professionals are given (or create) opportunities to talk about how their work links to priorities across the institution, they clarify their role and value as helpful colleague, while positioning themselves as a resource on a topic of great importance to their institution.
