by Lisa J. Tabet
Daily Lobo
The UNM School of Medicine Office of Continuing Medical Education has been awarded a six-year reaccreditation, with commendation, by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education.
Ellen Cosgrove, senior associate dean for the Continuing Medical Education office, said she is very pleased with the reaccreditation.
She said the office was first accredited 30 years ago and has maintained that standing ever since.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
"The striking thing about this accreditation is that we were accredited for six years, which only a small percentage of programs get," Cosgrove said.
She said the Office of Continuing Medical Education offers educational opportunities for physicians and health care professionals to improve their abilities as practitioners. The office is linked to the New Mexico Department of Health to better assist and educate New Mexicans on health issues, she said.
The office was rated in "exemplary compliance" for its planning process, needs assessment, evaluation of programs, mechanisms for program improvement and administration, according to the accreditation report.
The report also stated that accreditation officials cited the Continuing Medical Education office's use of "innovative and creative planning" and "consistent use of needs assessment data" as grounds for the accreditation with commendation.
Requirements for criteria include business and management policies and procedures, physician performance, education on patient health and other educational activities. The three essential areas of criteria are the purpose and mission of the office, its educational planning and evaluation and its administration.
Part of the qualification process included a review by professional peers of the Office of Continuing Medical Education. Representatives from Penn State University and from a Mt. Sinai affiliate visited the office for a day to conduct interviews and review files. Accreditation officials also checked on the office's performance in practice.
Other measures taken to obtain the accreditation included a self-study evaluation of the program, which included the use of a survey that asked both people in authority and customers what they thought of the program and how they thought it could improve was another measure taken to achieve the six-year reaccreditation.
