Post by FIUPantherFan on Nov 19, 2007 20:12:19 GMT -5
Inspectors to visit FIU medical school
BY OSCAR CORRAL
Florida International University's fledgling medical school must clear a major hurdle this week to be able to start recruiting its inaugural class in the spring.
A team of inspectors from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education has been visiting the campus since Monday to determine if FIU has reached the milestones for the medical school to receive preliminary accreditation. Without that approval, the medical school's recruitment could be postponed for months, if not longer.
FIU Provost Ronald Berkman said FIU has been preparing all year: ``I think we've done a tremendous amount of work, and we have looked at the criteria carefully and done all we can to put together a program that meets the criteria of the accrediting agency.''
It's been a year and a half since the Florida Legislature approved the medical school, and about a year since FIU hired a dean, John Rock, for it. Since then, FIU has hired about 40 staff and faculty to launch the program, including three assistant deans. The university also has signed working agreements with Jackson North Medical Center, Mount Sinai Medical and Miami Children's Hospital, Rock said.
The medical school now occupies the sixth floor of the Health and Life Sciences Building on FIU's South Campus, but eventually will take over the whole building, Berkman said. In a few years, FIU hopes to build an entire medical school complex on its South Campus.
The Liaison Committee's team of three inspectors represents the American Medical Association and the American Association of Medical Colleges, Berkman said. During their two-day visit, they will interview the medical school's faculty, scrutinize the curriculum, finances, and analyze the planned recruitment and admissions processes.
Among the classes planned: Epidemiology and Evidence Based Medicine; Ethical Foundations of Medicine; HB: Genes/Molecules/Cells.
''I've been in an accreditation process before,'' said Rock, a gynecological surgeon and former dean of Louisiana State University's medical school. ``This is really a snapshot of where we are now in our planning process to bring the school aboard.''
Sometime around January, the accreditation team will issue a report to the Liaison Committee, which will then decide on preliminary accreditation, Berkman said. If all goes well, FIU could start recruiting its first medical school class -- about 40 students -- as early as February.
Other obstacles lie ahead for FIU: they need more money than originally planned to meet the Liaison Committee's strict standards. For example, the budget for 2008 will grow from $11.7 million to $15.3 million.
By 2014, when FIU plans to have more than 400 medical students enrolled, FIU will need $28 million. The school had originally projected a budget of $21 million once it reached full enrollment.
FIU is planning an unusual, if innovative, brand of medical education in which the students would head into neighborhoods and work with families inside their homes, getting to know their medical histories. The program is designed to create culturally sensitive doctors by using South Florida's rich tapestry of ethnicities.
FIU President Modesto ''Mitch'' Maidique said this week's visit is critical: ``We'll certainly be giving thanks if this goes well.''
BY OSCAR CORRAL
Florida International University's fledgling medical school must clear a major hurdle this week to be able to start recruiting its inaugural class in the spring.
A team of inspectors from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education has been visiting the campus since Monday to determine if FIU has reached the milestones for the medical school to receive preliminary accreditation. Without that approval, the medical school's recruitment could be postponed for months, if not longer.
FIU Provost Ronald Berkman said FIU has been preparing all year: ``I think we've done a tremendous amount of work, and we have looked at the criteria carefully and done all we can to put together a program that meets the criteria of the accrediting agency.''
It's been a year and a half since the Florida Legislature approved the medical school, and about a year since FIU hired a dean, John Rock, for it. Since then, FIU has hired about 40 staff and faculty to launch the program, including three assistant deans. The university also has signed working agreements with Jackson North Medical Center, Mount Sinai Medical and Miami Children's Hospital, Rock said.
The medical school now occupies the sixth floor of the Health and Life Sciences Building on FIU's South Campus, but eventually will take over the whole building, Berkman said. In a few years, FIU hopes to build an entire medical school complex on its South Campus.
The Liaison Committee's team of three inspectors represents the American Medical Association and the American Association of Medical Colleges, Berkman said. During their two-day visit, they will interview the medical school's faculty, scrutinize the curriculum, finances, and analyze the planned recruitment and admissions processes.
Among the classes planned: Epidemiology and Evidence Based Medicine; Ethical Foundations of Medicine; HB: Genes/Molecules/Cells.
''I've been in an accreditation process before,'' said Rock, a gynecological surgeon and former dean of Louisiana State University's medical school. ``This is really a snapshot of where we are now in our planning process to bring the school aboard.''
Sometime around January, the accreditation team will issue a report to the Liaison Committee, which will then decide on preliminary accreditation, Berkman said. If all goes well, FIU could start recruiting its first medical school class -- about 40 students -- as early as February.
Other obstacles lie ahead for FIU: they need more money than originally planned to meet the Liaison Committee's strict standards. For example, the budget for 2008 will grow from $11.7 million to $15.3 million.
By 2014, when FIU plans to have more than 400 medical students enrolled, FIU will need $28 million. The school had originally projected a budget of $21 million once it reached full enrollment.
FIU is planning an unusual, if innovative, brand of medical education in which the students would head into neighborhoods and work with families inside their homes, getting to know their medical histories. The program is designed to create culturally sensitive doctors by using South Florida's rich tapestry of ethnicities.
FIU President Modesto ''Mitch'' Maidique said this week's visit is critical: ``We'll certainly be giving thanks if this goes well.''
