GWU medical school is off probation

The medical school at George Washington University has earned its way off probation, school officials announced Wednesday.

The GWU School of Medicine and Health Sciences was put on probation in fall 2008 by its accrediting organization for being out of compliance on several standards. The school never lost its accreditation, but it was the only medical school accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education that was on probation at the time.

An investigative report by my colleague Susan Kinzie in February 2009 found that the school had deficiencies "considerably more serious" than the "mostly superficial matters" cited by school officials.

Documents showed GWU had inadequately monitored students' time with patients, that student debt levels were among the highest in the country, and that students had complained of mistreatment.

In a letter Wednesday to members of the medical school community, Dean Jim Scott wrote:

"The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) has just informed us that our M.D. program has been removed from probation, and its accreditation has been extended for the full eight-year period. We should receive more details on its decision in the next few weeks.

We believe that through this process we have become a stronger school. I want to thank all of the students, faculty and staff who participated in this process."

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