Accreditation Extended for UH School of Medicine

University of Hawaiʻi
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Posted: Jun 23, 2004

The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) last week voted to extend the accreditation of the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) at the University of Hawaiʻi for eight more years, solidifying the school‘s role as the state‘s primary source of trained physicians just months before the completion of its new campus in Kakaʻako.

After considering placing the school on probation, the LCME sent a survey team to visit the school in early April 2004. The survey team interviewed faculty and administrators, and reviewed a detailed report. Its investigation revealed that the school had "come into substantial compliance with standards" related to all areas of concern, which included the number of faculty, adequacy and diversity of revenue, and appropriate funds for a medical library. The next complete survey will occur during the 2008-2009 academic year.

"I‘d like to commend Dean Cadman and the faculty and staff of the medical school for their efforts to address and resolve the issues brought forward by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education," said UH Acting President David McClain. "With this validation and the near completion of a new campus in Kakaʻako, the medical school is on track to establish itself as a leading institution for medical education and research as well as the center of the bioscience industry for Hawaiʻi."

Since Cadman‘s arrival as dean in 1999, grants and contracts awarded to the medical school have risen 233 percent to a projected $40 million in FY2004. Awards from the National Institutes of Health alone have soared 900 percent over 1999, to $19 million. Total revenues for FY2004 will reach $98 million, a 100 percent increase from 1999 levels.

In addition, Cadman and his faculty have raised $16 million for community-based endeavors such as the Department of Native Hawaiian Health. Approximately 50 percent of practicing physicians in the state are graduates of the school‘s MD or residency programs.

"This full accreditation will allow us to focus on education and research, and the development of the bioscience industry in Kakaʻako," said Dr. Ed Cadman, dean of the School of Medicine. "It also will enhance the school‘s efforts to become financially self-sustaining."

"It‘s a stamp of approval," said Dr. Sam Shomaker, vice dean of the School of Medicine who directed the accreditation effort. "They‘re telling us that we‘re doing good work and moving in the right direction. This is a testament to the faculty‘s commitment and dedication to the vision the dean has established. It‘s a national validation of the work they‘re doing."