LCME Subcommittee 2
Standard 3: Academic Learning Environments
A medical school ensures that its medical education program occurs in professional, respectful, and intellectually stimulating academic and clinical environments, recognizes the benefits of diversity, and promotes students’ attainment of competencies required of future physicians.
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Element |
Narrative |
Questions to be completed by subcommittees |
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3.1 |
Each medical student in a medical education program participates in one or more required clinical experiences conducted in a health care setting in which he or she works with resident physicians currently enrolled in an accredited program of graduate medical education. |
Does each medical student have the opportunity to complete at least one required clinical experience in a setting where he/she interacts with residents? (3.1)
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3.2 |
A medical education program is conducted in an environment that fosters the intellectual challenge and spirit of inquiry appropriate to a community of scholars and provides sufficient opportunities, encouragement, and support for medical student participation in the research and other scholarly activities of its faculty. |
Evaluate whether the medical school provides a scholarly environment for faculty and students. Is there appropriate support and encouragement for medical students to participate in research? (3.2) |
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3.3 |
A medical school has effective policies and practices in place, and engages in ongoing, systematic, and focused recruitment and retention activities, to achieve mission-appropriate diversity outcomes among its students, faculty, senior administrative staff, and other relevant members of its academic community. These activities include the use of programs and/or partnerships aimed at achieving diversity among qualified applicants for medical school admission and the evaluation of program and partnership outcomes. |
Evaluate the medical school’s efforts to promote diversity, including the clarity of diversity definitions and policies, the linkage of recruitment and retention efforts to the school’s defined diversity categories, and the sufficiency of resources to support diversity efforts. Has the school demonstrated sufficient effort and been successful in achieving its desired diversity? Have pipeline programs for medical students contributed to the diversity of the medical school and to the national applicant pool? (3.3) |
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3.4 |
A medical school does not discriminate on the basis of age, creed, gender identity, national origin, race, sex, or sexual orientation. |
Is a formally-approved anti-discrimination policy in use? Evaluate whether the medical education program sufficiently and appropriately includes education and assessment related to the professional behaviors that its students are expected to acquire. Are there adequate mechanisms in place to evaluate the learning environment and do the school’s clinical affiliates share the responsibility for this evaluation and for the remediation of any identified problems? (3.4, 3.5) |
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3.5 |
A medical school ensures that the learning environment of its medical education program is conducive to the ongoing development of explicit and appropriate professional behaviors in its medical students, faculty, and staff at all locations and is one in which all individuals are treated with respect. The medical school and its clinical affiliates share the responsibility for periodic evaluation of the learning environment in order to identify positive and negative influences on the maintenance of professional standards, develop and conduct appropriate strategies to enhance positive and mitigate negative influences, and identify and promptly correct violations of professional standards. |
Is a formally-approved anti-discrimination policy in use? Evaluate whether the medical education program sufficiently and appropriately includes education and assessment related to the professional behaviors that its students are expected to acquire. Are there adequate mechanisms in place to evaluate the learning environment and do the school’s clinical affiliates share the responsibility for this evaluation and for the remediation of any identified problems? (3.4, 3.5) |
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3.6 |
A medical school defines and publicizes its code of professional conduct for faculty-student relationships in its medical education program, develops effective written policies that address violations of the code, has effective mechanisms in place for a prompt response to any complaints, and supports educational activities aimed at preventing inappropriate behavior. Mechanisms for reporting violations of the code of professional conduct (e.g., incidents of harassment or abuse) are well understood by students and ensure that any violations can be registered and investigated without fear of retaliation. |
Evaluate the effectiveness of the school’s policies and procedures related to preventing and responding to incidents of inappropriate behavior, such as student mistreatment. Are students familiar with the school’s code of professional conduct and are they familiar and comfortable with the mechanisms to report violations? (3.6)
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Standard 12: Medical Student Health Services, Personal Counseling, And Financial Aid Services
A medical school provides effective student services to all medical students to assist them in achieving the program’s goals for its students. All medical students have the same rights and receive comparable services.
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Element |
Narrative |
Questions to be completed by subcommittees |
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12.1 |
A medical school provides its medical students with effective financial aid and debt management counseling and has mechanisms in place to minimize the impact of direct educational expenses (i.e., tuition, fees, books, supplies) on medical student indebtedness. |
Review trends in tuition in relation to trends in medical student debt and in the level of scholarship support available. Evaluate the effectiveness of efforts to minimize student debt, including raising funds for scholarships and providing accessible financial aid and debt management counseling. Note if there is a clear and reasonable policy for the refund of tuition and allowable payments. (12.1, 12.2 plus Overview section) |
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12.2 |
A medical school has clear, reasonable, and fair policies for the refund of a medical student’s tuition, fees, and other allowable payments (e.g., payments made for health or disability insurance, parking, housing, and other similar services for which a student may no longer be eligible following withdrawal). |
Review trends in tuition in relation to trends in medical student debt and in the level of scholarship support available. Evaluate the effectiveness of efforts to minimize student debt, including raising funds for scholarships and providing accessible financial aid and debt management counseling. Note if there is a clear and reasonable policy for the refund of tuition and allowable payments. (12.1, 12.2 plus Overview section) |
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12.3 Presonal Counseling/ Well-Being Programs |
A medical school has in place an effective system of personal counseling for its medical students that includes programs to promote their well-being and to facilitate their adjustment to the physical and emotional demands of medical education. |
Evaluate the adequacy, availability, and confidentiality of student support in the following areas, including the satisfaction of students at all sites with these services: a. Personal counseling and programs to facilitate students’ adjustment to medical school. (12.3)
Also consult the Overview section. |
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12.4 Student Access to Health Care Services |
A medical school provides its medical students with timely access to needed diagnostic, preventive, and therapeutic health services at sites in reasonable proximity to the locations of their required educational experiences and has policies and procedures in place that permit students to be excused from these experiences to seek needed care. |
Evaluate the adequacy, availability, and confidentiality of student support in the following areas, including the satisfaction of students at all sites with these services: b. Preventive and therapeutic health care services. (12.4) Also consult the Overview section. |
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12.5 Non-Involvement of Providers of Student Health ervices in tudent Assessment/Location of Student Health Records |
The health professionals who provide health services, including psychiatric/psychological counseling, to a medical student have no involvement in the academic assessment or promotion of the medical student receiving those services. A medical school ensures that medical student health records are maintained in accordance with legal requirements for security, privacy, confidentiality, and accessibility. |
Evaluate whether existing policies and processes ensure that a health professional who provides health services and psychiatric/psychological counseling to a medical student will have no role in that student’s assessment or promotion and that the confidentiality of student health records is maintained. (12.5) |
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12.6 Student Access To Health And Disability Insurance
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A medical school ensures that health insurance and disability insurance are available to each medical student and that health insurance is also available to each medical student’s dependents. |
Evaluate the adequacy, availability, and confidentiality of student support in the following areas, including the satisfaction of students at all sites with these services: c. Health and disability insurance. (12.6) Also consult the Overview section. |
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12.7 Immunization Guidelines |
A medical school follows accepted guidelines in determining immunization requirements for its medical students. |
Evaluate the adequacy, availability, and confidentiality of student support in the following areas, including the satisfaction of students at all sites with these services: d. Immunizations as specified in school of medicine policies. (12.7) Also consult the Overview section. |
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12.8 Student Exposure Policies / Procedures |
A medical school has policies in place that effectively address medical student exposure to infectious and environmental hazards, including the following:
All registered medical students (including visiting students) are informed of these policies before undertaking any educational activities that would place them at risk |
Evaluate the effectiveness of policies and educational programs addressing medical student exposure to infectious and environmental hazards. Are students, including visiting students, appropriately educated about methods of prevention and about the steps to take in the case of exposure? Do medical school policies include all required elements? (12.8) |
