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A timeline of issues facing the University of Arizona’s fledgling medical school in Phoenix.
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The Liaison Committee on Medical Education has awarded the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix full accreditation.

“Earning full accreditation is an important milestone in the evolutionary history of the University of Arizona’s College of Medicine-Phoenix,” said UA President Robert C. Robbins, a cardiothoracic surgeon. “Full accreditation assures students that they are getting an outstanding education and it demonstrates to Arizona residents that the University of Arizona is graduating exceptional physicians.”

Dr. Ken Ramos, interim dean of the Phoenix medical school, received a call from the LCME on Friday notifying him the college had received the upgraded standing. The LCME’s website was updated Monday to reflect the college’s full accreditation.

UA started the four-year medical program in Phoenix in 2007 as a branch of the College of Medicine in Tucson. The Phoenix college received preliminary accreditation as an independent institution in 2012 and provisional accreditation in 2016, with a couple of hiccups along the way to full accreditation. 

The college was put on probation in 2015 after the LCME cited concerns about the college’s governing practices and the degree of involvement from main campus in Tucson. The Arizona Medical Association called for the Arizona Board of Regents to conduct an independent investigation into the college after former Dean Dr. Stuart Flynn departed with five other colleagues to a new medical school in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2016.

The college has graduated 334 physicians in the past 10 years. There are 354 students enrolled in the college. 

“This significant milestone has been reached because of the collaborative spirit of our faculty and staff and the outstanding leadership of Dean Ramos,” said Dr. Leigh A. Neumayer, interim senior vice president for UA Health Sciences. “This announcement acknowledges the strength and excellence of this college and our ability to transform today’s students into tomorrow’s health care leaders.”

The college will receive a full report from the LCME in the coming month detailing the review of the program.

READ MORE:

UA medical school in Phoenix hires University of Tennessee cardiologist as new dean

UA Phoenix medical school faces final exam: Reviewers’ critique of program

Regents end inquiry into UA medical school in Phoenix, but keep report under wraps

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