The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) has granted Nova Southeastern University’s (NSU) Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine (NSU MD) full accreditation during its meeting this past February. Achieving this final, essential milestone in a three-step accreditation journey, which involved numerous site visits and spanning more than six years, grants NSU MD the privilege of officially conferring the Doctor of Medicine degree (M.D.) and state licensure upon its student graduates. The LCME is the nationally recognized accrediting authority for medical education programs leading to the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree in the United States and Canada.
“LCME Accreditation validates the original vision for this college, catalyzing physician education, research and healthcare leadership” said Dr. Johannes Vieweg, M.D., FACS, Founding Dean and Chief Academic Officer of NSU MD. “I feel immense gratitude for our faculty, staff and partners who have been instrumental in building a brand-new medical school ‘from the ground up’.”
LCME accreditation is also required for students to take the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) and ensures eligibility for residency programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). This now makes NSU MD the state’s eighth fully-accredited allopathic medical school.
“Achieving full LCME Accreditation of the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine elevates NSU to a new level, contributing significantly to NSU becoming the preeminent research and doctoral university in the Southeast,” said Dr. George Hanbury, NSU President and CEO. “Full accreditation not only signifies a tremendous accomplishment for NSU MD, but, moving forward, will impact the entire university system by advancing NSU’s path to preeminence.”
In 2015, the NSU Board of Trustees authorized the creation of the College of Allopathic Medicine. The college received preliminary accreditation in October 2017 and admitted its inaugural class of 50 students in August 2018. In 2022, the college celebrated its first “Match Day,” with 100% of NSU MD’s first graduating class matching to highly competitive ACGME residencies; even more impressive was that more than 40% of students matched in Florida.
Dr. Vieweg said that student matches last year are an indication of the excellent working relationships NSU has with health care partners and professionals across Florida. One of those strong clinical affiliations is with the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), East Florida Division.
Several leading HCA hospitals in South Florida are currently serving as clerkship sites and provide hands-on clinical experiences for the college’s medical students. During clinical training, students have the opportunity to work side by side with physicians in the diagnosis and treatment of patients, applying knowledge learned from the first two years of study to real-life situations.
