Current landscape of formal units associated with continuous quality improvement and accreditation in U.S. medical schools

Purpose Institutional approaches to accreditation and continuous quality improvement (accreditation/CQI) activities for undergraduate medical education programs vary. This study aims to describe the current landscape of formal units (offices and/or personnel) dedicated to accreditation/CQI across U.S. medical schools. Method From September 20 to October 13, 2023, the authors conducted a search of the websites of all U.S. medical schools accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) to identify formal offices (including departments) and personnel roles responsible for accreditation/CQI-related functions. Accreditation/CQI-related functions were defined as having a name/title that includes terms such as strategic planning and monitoring, assessment, program evaluation, CQI, and LCME accreditation. Results The authors searched the websites of all 157 LCME-accredited U.S. medical schools (as of September 21, 2023) to identify the academic affairs or medical education leadership and accreditation/CQI-related units. They identified 154 schools (98%) with an academic affairs or medical education leader, supporting the robustness of the search strategy. Related to accreditation/CQI unit identification, 62 schools (39%) had a formal accreditation/CQI office, while 119 schools (76%) had at least one personnel associated with these functions. Sixty-six schools (42%) had dean-level roles, 86 (55%) had director-level roles, and 58 (37%) had other staff dedicated to accreditation/CQI efforts. Conclusions Based on website content, most U.S. medical schools maintain some form of accreditation/CQI presence; however, there is notable variability in institutional approaches. These findings suggest a centralized, multilayered accreditation/CQI unit may represent a preferred or best-practice accreditation/CQI structure. National organizations may wish to consider developing guidance or benchmarks to encourage the adoption of best practices and promote greater consistency in accreditation/CQI infrastructure across U.S. medical schools.