ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The UCF College of Medicine is one step closer to full accreditation and so far, the university said they are right on schedule to graduate its charter class.
The dean of the College of Medicine, Dr. Deborah German calls the provisional status a milestone. If all goes according to plan, in about 18 months, UCF will be added to the list of 130 fully accredited MD programs in the nation.
On Wednesday, a group of prospective medical students visited the UCF College of Medicine's campus and Dr. German said they got their first look at a school headed in the right direction.
"Your graduates can't do residencies, or get any further training if you're not accredited. So, it means everything," said German.
UCF's College of Medicine went from preliminary to provisional status based on the performance of its charter class who entered the Medical College in 2009. The Liaison Committee on Medical Education will revisit those students in their fourth year at the college to make a determination on full accreditation.
"They look at our faculty, their credentials, how they're teaching, how the students evaluate their teachers," said German.
UCF is trying to do more than meet its accreditation requirements. Officials said they are trying to exceed them. One of the anatomy labs allows students to access the school's medical library as they work on their first patients.
"They had some of the newest teachers, the best equipment, the newest technology and curriculum," said Sharise Richardson, a UCF medical student
UCF is also in the heart of what's becoming a medical city, according to officials. The Sanford-Burnham Institute, the Nemours and VA hospitals are all apart of Orlando's newest medical facilities. Also, not to mention 1,600 volunteer faculty who've made commitments to the school.
"They'll come back and look at what we've done and that's when we'll get full accreditation," said German.
There are already plans for a medical college on the UCF campus and officials said the college of nursing may join it.
In the past two years, 1,600 volunteer faculty have assisted the College of Medicine's one hundred students.
WFTV
