Post-Graduate Medical School Earns Reaccreditation

When NYU Langone Medical Center’s Post-Graduate Medical School (PGMS), which offers courses in continuing medical education, earned reaccreditation in July, it joined a select group. “Only one in four applicants receives full accreditation on the first attempt,” explains Rachel Godfrey, the school’s manager. “We had to submit a 432-page self-evaluation, plus supporting documents, detailing our performance in 22 different criteria. Our licensing body, the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education, requires detailed documentation that each course fills a clear educational gap. In addition, we must show that these courses improve not only knowledge, but also clinical competence, performance, or patient outcomes.”

The PGMS, headed by Norman Sussman, MD, associate dean and professor of psychiatry, is part of NYU School of Medicine. The 150 courses it administers annually, open to all licensed physicians, range from one-day presentations to multiday conferences. Taught by departments of the school or outside groups, these courses keep doctors abreast of the latest advances in their field. Notes Dr. Sussman: “The significance of accreditation is that it affirms that those who attend our activities can be confident that they receive education of the highest quality.”