U of S College of Medicine's Undergraduate MD Program Receives Accreditation

Posted March 02, 2006


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - March 2, 2006 2006-03-03-MED

U of S College of Medicine's Undergraduate MD Program Receives Accreditation

The University of Saskatchewan is pleased to announce that the undergraduate
MD program at the College of Medicine has been fully accredited by the
Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) beginning immediately.

Dr. William Albritton, Dean of the College said: "We are thrilled to receive
full accreditation for the Undergraduate MD Program, as it confirms our
commitment to quality health education at the College of Medicine. Our
students, staff and alumni will be reassured by this decision and we can now
turn our attention to ensuring undergraduate medical education at the
University of Saskatchewan continues to grow and thrive."

"I wish to thank our faculty and students for their work on this project.
Special thanks are extended to Dr. Sheila Rutledge-Harding, Associate Dean
of Medicine (Medical Education) and Dr. Lou Qualtiere, Assistant Dean of
Medicine (Undergraduate Medical Education), for their leadership and
dedication to this endeavor," added Albritton.

* A brief media scrum with Dr. Albritton will take place on Thursday, March
2 at 1:30 pm outside of Room B103, Health Sciences Building, U of S campus.

Background: A review by LCME in 2002 identified weaknesses in the
undergraduate MD program that stemmed from long-term resource challenges. As
a result, the College was put on probationary status in 2003. Since that
time, the College has responded resolutely to the feedback and has worked to
satisfy the imposed conditions. A follow up visit took place in January 2004
at which time the review team found the College had satisfied half of the
standards in question. A second visit took place in September 2005 and their
report was forwarded to LCME for review in late February 2006. At this time,
full accreditation was granted.

Additional information can be found online at:
www.usask.ca/medicine/accreditation/.

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For more information, please contact:

Dr. W. L. Albritton
Dean of Medicine
College of Medicine
University of Saskatchewan
Tel: (306) 966-6149
Email: william.albritton@usask.ca

Annette Horvath
Alumni Communications Officer
College of Medicine
University of Saskatchewan
E-mail: annette.horvath@usask.ca
Tel: (306) 966-8864