Dell Medical School At UT-Austin Secures Key Accreditation

AUSTIN, TX — Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin has received full accreditation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, officials said on Wednesday, calling the development a significant milestone for the school set to graduate its first class of medical students this May.

To achieve full accreditation, medical schools must satisfy 12 established standards, official said, each with numerous elements and an extensive self-evaluation process. All criteria are designed to ensure that their education programs are qualified to award the Doctor of Medicine degree, officials said.

“Today we celebrate a crucial milestone in the evolution of Dell Medical School at The University of Texas,” UT-Austin President Gregory L. Fenves said in a prepared statement. “With full accreditation, the medical school is now poised to confer degrees upon a group of physicians who will serve our communities and help set a new standard for excellence in medicine and health care.”

Dell Med is the first medical school in nearly 50 years to be built from the ground up at a top-tier U.S. research university, university officials noted. The school joins 172 other U.S. and Canadian medical schools receiving full Liaison Committee on Medical Education accreditation.

This news builds on a vision first expressed in 2011 by State Sen. Kirk Watson (D-Austin) who topped his list of “10 Goals in 10 Years” with construction of a medical school to improve the health of Central Texans, school officials said. Travis County voters expressed support of the vision in November 2012 when voting to approve a property tax increase to create and invest in the medical school, university officials said.

“We’ve come quite a long way from imagining a medical school here, and it’s an amazing feeling to see Dell Med flourish from an idea into a full-blown reality, thanks to the invaluable input and commitment of so many people in our community,” Sue Cox, M.D., executive vice dean of academics and chair of the Department of Medical Education at Dell Med, said in a prepared statement.

Cox led the multi-year process toward attaining the coveted accreditation, officials observed, which included submitting a rigorous self-evaluation and involved thousands of hours and more than 100 faculty members, staff members and partners to cross the finish line.

“We have been recruiting physicians to serve as leaders who are as comfortable taking on the biggest challenges in health care as they are caring for the most vulnerable patients,” said Cox, whose team designed Dell Med’s innovative Leading EDGE Curriculum focused on value-based health care, team-based learning, space for self-discovery, expanded clinical opportunities, and more.

Dell Med earned preliminary accreditation in 2015, which allowed it to recruit its first class of medical students.

“There is an incredible amount of effort that got us to this point, which represents an achievement for Dell Med, UT Austin and our community,” Clay Johnston, M.D., Ph.D., Dell Med’s inaugural dean and vice president for medical affairs at The University of Texas at Austin, said in a prepared statement.

“We are especially grateful to our many community partners, including the community physicians who helped us shape our curriculum and serve as preceptors for our students. This has truly been a collaborative effort,” Johnston added. “I’m also so proud that we have created an entirely new model for a medical school curriculum, one that is already spreading to other institutions,” he said.

University officials said the secured accreditation allows Dell Med students to accomplish critical steps in their career development, including:

• Taking the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE).
• Becoming eligible for residency programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).
• Earning a state board license, for most students.

School officials said Dell Med’s next significant milestone is expected to be accomplished on March 20 — a day dubbed "Match Day” — when members of the Class of 2020 will learn where they will continue their medical training as residents. Dell Med is scheduled to graduate its first class on May 21.