MD program fully reaccredited, following approval of $17M to help build new facility downtown

Tampa. FL (June 30, 2015) — The USF Health Morsani College of Medicine’s MD program has been reaccredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) for the next eight years – the maximum period allowed.

This caps off a month of great news for the University of South Florida medical school. The reaccreditation follows the Governor’s approval last week of a state budget, which includes $17 million for the university to begin building its new Morsani College of Medicine (MCOM) facility in downtown Tampa, co-located with the USF Health Heart Institute.

A few of the MCOM faculty, staff and students involved in the LCME reaccreditation process. Clockwise from center: Dr. Bryan Bognar; Dr. Gretchen Koehler; Adriane Smith; Elizabeth Rogers, MS4; Casey Nagel, MS4; Harold Paul, MS4, Neil Manimala, MS4 (Medical Student Council President), Monique Konstantinovic, MS4 (co-president, Class of 2016), and Seema Martinez.

“We will continue to relentlessly pursue excellence in education, research and clinical care,” said Charles J. Lockwood, MD, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine. “This positive LCME evaluation validates the progress we have made in modernizing our MD curriculum to prepare physicians to lead and practice in a rapidly changing, interdisciplinary health care system.”

The LCME accreditation is additional evidence of a medical school on the move, which is attracting more top prospective medical students to USF. A record number of 5,235 AMCAS applications – up 24 percent from last year – were received for the class of 175 students expected to enter MCOM this August. Additionally, the average Medical College Admission Test score, or MCAT, for the newly admitted students is up 7 percent from last year, which places the incoming class in the top quartile for average MCAT scores among medical schools ranked by U.S. News & World Report.

The LCME is the nationally-recognized accrediting authority for medical education programs leading to the MD degree in U.S. and Canadian schools. Accreditation shows that a medical school has met very rigorous national standards. Graduating from an LCME-accredited school is a condition for licensure in most states.

The LCME cited USF’s ongoing efforts to minimize medical student debt as a particular strength. Among Dr. Lockwood’s priorities since arriving at USF last year is reducing student debt by freezing tuition, as well as boosting the number of medical student scholarships. Scholarship and grant funding to help defray educational expenses for USF medical students increased 300 percent over the last seven years, and student debt rate remains below the national average for all LCME-accredited medical schools.

To prepare for the LCME’s site visit this past February, a team of more than 100 faculty, students and staff spent nearly two years conducting a self-study to help ensure MCOM met LCME standards and to guide institutional improvement.

Dr. Bryan Bognar is vice dean for Educational Affairs at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.

“This successful outcome speaks volumes about our comprehensive and meticulous preparation,” said Bryan Bognar, MD, MPH, vice dean for Educational Affairs at MCOM. “It would not have been possible without the hard work, collaboration and dedication of our administration, faculty, staff and students, including our colleagues at the Lehigh Valley campus in Allentown and our incredible Tampa Bay area hospital and community partners.”

For the first time, the LCME reviewed USF Health’s MD SELECT Program – a new partnership with the nationally-recognized Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN). The innovative program, which graduated its first 16 students this spring, admits a group of medical students demonstrating a high level of emotional intelligence and leadership potential. It develops their skills in medical leadership, values-based, patient-centered care and health systems. Students take classes in Tampa for two years, then go to the USF Lehigh Valley campus in Pennsylvania for two years to focus on their clinical education.

“When you embrace the challenges and changes that arise when creating a groundbreaking program like SELECT, you expect to undergo a tough reaccreditation process. We prepared well for the scrutiny and passed,” said Robert Barraco, MD, associate dean for Educational Affairs at MCOM’s Lehigh Valley campus. “This is a huge victory for everyone, both on the USF Tampa campus and the Lehigh Valley campus. Even though we are 1,000 miles apart, there is no distance between us when it comes to working together to improve medical education.”

Dr. Robert Barraco is, associate dean for Educational Affairs at the USF Lehigh Valley campus, where medical students in the MD SELECT program conduct their clinical education.

The move to downtown Tampa is expected to make MCOM even more attractive to top medical student talent in the near future. Bringing together education, translational research and high quality patient care under one roof, it will place students within five minutes of the university’s world-class medical simulation and learning space (CAMLS) and Tampa General Hospital, where they conduct the majority of their clinical rotations.

“It’s a unique opportunity to bring USF Health closer to our primary teaching hospital, into what will be a thriving downtown waterfront district with tremendous appeal to students and faculty,” said Dr. Lockwood. “We look forward to being there well before our next LCME visit in 2023.”

-USF Health-
USF Health’s mission is to envision and implement the future of health. It is the partnership of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of Public Health, the College of Pharmacy, the School of Biomedical Sciences and the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences; and the USF Physician’s Group. The University of South Florida is a global research university ranked 50^th in the nation by the National Science Foundation for both federal and total research expenditures among all U.S. universities. For more information, visit www.health.usf.edu.

Media contact:
Anne DeLotto Baier, USF Health Communications
(813) 974-3303 or abaier@health.usf.edu

Photos by Eric Younghans, USF Health Communications

Eight years ago, Bryan Bognar, MPH, MD, was deep in the middle of preparing for reaccreditation for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. Committees, data collection, lengthy reports and in-depth self-study filled his days for nearly a year.

Today, Dr. Bognar is once again deep in the middle accreditation as the medical school prepares for its next site visit by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) early next year.  Although the familiarity makes for a faster learning curve, it won’t slow the pace or reduce the volume of work, said Dr. Bognar, who was recently named vice dean of the Office of Educational Affairs for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine (MCOM).

“Having gone through the accreditation process is a tremendous advantage, but a lot has changed at MCOM since the last accreditation cycle,” said Dr. Bognar, who started the job March 3. “But the beauty of the LCME visit and associated preparation is that it offers us an opportunity to take a hard look in the mirror and see how we’re doing. What we discover is that there is a long list of strengths so it’s a chance to celebrate the things we are doing well. There also will be opportunities for improvement.”

The LCME reaccredited MCOM for a full eight years in 2007. Its decision for the next accreditation comes in 2015.

USF Health has had a number of new initiatives since Dr. Bognar left the Office of Educational Affairs roughly five years ago, including the College of Pharmacy, an expanded master’s program, shared student services (The Well) and the SELECT MD program. One of USF Health’s strong differentiators, Dr. Bognar said, is the ever-growing inter-professional education efforts across USF Health.

The LCME recognizes the importance of incorporating inter-professional education (IPE) experiences in students’ curriculum, Dr. Bognar said.

“IPE is a very important aspect of what makes USF Health unique,” he said. “Our students have a genuine thirst for knowledge for what other health professionals contribute to patient care. They need to come away with an appreciation of how the pieces fit together.”

His own clinical experiences will likely play into the IPE efforts at USF Health, for both the LCME visit and for the long term.

“I spent three and a half years practicing within a very interdisciplinary environment at Moffitt Cancer Center,” he said. “I’ve seen it affect patient outcomes in a very real way, on a day-to-day basis. It’s like an orchestra, with each health professional bringing their own expertise, experience, and perspective on what the patient needs are. The patient care plan that comes from that interaction is critical; when done well it works seamlessly.”

And with health care continually changing, the need for training in teams has never been greater, he said.

“There is a complexity of modern-day patient care and it requires flexible, interdisciplinary care models. The more and earlier we can expose students to that, the better.”

That attitude helps USF MCOM students see Dr. Bognar as a great asset, for both the impending LCME visit and for continued positive interactions with students.

“Medical students are ecstatic for his return,” said Neil Manimala, president of the MCOM Student Council. “Dr. Bognar’s dedication to the student body is incredible. When we met first met with him to better acquaint him with key student concerns right after he was selected, he was already aware of most of the developments that have happened since he left USF Health. He stayed with us for two and a half hours, making sure to gather details on the direction the students want our institution to be headed.  I have the utmost confidence that under his leadership, we’ll be on that student-centered track, and subsequently we’ll come out of the LCME re-accreditation process a stronger community.”

The confidence in Dr. Bognar to champion MCOM students carries through to the administration, as well. In his letter notifying students of Dr. Bognar taking the vice dean of education position, MCOM Interim Dean Harry van Loveren noted:

“I could not be happier that Dr. Bognar agreed to take on this new role. His teaching abilities are widely recognized and admired by our leadership, our faculty, and by you, our students. In fact, when I first broke the news to a few of your student leaders yesterday, their joy was palpable – as if they had won a prize. And I believe they have. Dr. Bognar knows and appreciates our history and culture. I am confident about his abilities to lead us through the upcoming accreditation process for the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. Dr. Bognar, who received an MPH from our own College of Public Health, also has a deep understanding of our cooperative and inter-professional culture across USF Health. Dr. Bognar has said that he’s ‘absolutely thrilled’ to be returning to Educational Affairs. He asked us to let you know that he will put his heart and soul into working with you again and making your educational experience the best that it can be.”

So what’s after LCME accreditation? Dr. Bognar is taking it one step at a time.

“We’re not starting anything new just yet,” he said, smiling. “We’re focusing on the things in front of us. We want ensure that the changes that have already been made have an opportunity to develop deep roots and are sustainable. So they bear fruit for years to come.”

Dr. Bognar earned his MD from the Indiana University of School of Medicine, a BSc from the University of Notre Dame, and an MPH from the USF College of Public Health. He is a former chief resident at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital and completed a two-year fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has received several teaching awards from USF and received the American College of Physicians – American Society of Internal Medicine Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award in 2002.

In 2009, Dr. Bognar was associate dean for undergraduate medical education and interim vice dean for the MCOM Office of Educational Affairs before transitioning to Moffitt Cancer Center, where he was Chair of Internal Medicine and maintained a faculty appointment with MCOM to continue teaching students and residents.

Reflecting on his path back to the Office of Educational Affairs, Dr. Bognar noted that his road was always on course for teaching.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to come back,” he said. “It is not only an honor to be able to take care of patients, but also to help educate others on how to take care of patients.”

Story by Sarah Worth, photos by Eric Younghans, USF Health Office of Communications. 

Corralling the details of every college activity, project and job has been greatly simplified for USF Health students with the unveiling of the new USF Health Student Portfolios.

The online software helps students from throughout USF Health collect information about every degree, award, presentation, job, research project, and activity while they are at USF Health, helping them create a personal bio sketch and CV that grows across time.

In addition to building a resume, the goal of USF Health Student Portfolios is to help students have an interactive conversation with mentors about their activities and goals, said Melissa Metzger, director of Academic Technologies and Digital Media for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.

“It’s a place where students can have a back-and-forth with their mentors and counselors and fine-tune their portfolio as they progress to graduation, a process that, for medical students, can help them build the letters they use to apply for medical residencies,” Metzger said.

Another plus, Metzger said, is that the interaction is completely confidential because students and mentors are viewing the shared content via the secure Portfolios website.

“It’s all behind a log-in, so the virtual assistance is private and confidential, which isn’t the case with emails and attachments,” she said.

In addition to tracking academic experience and using the data to create customized and in-depth resumes and bio-sketches, Portfolios is accessible beyond graduation, allowing USF Health graduates to continue building on their career journeys.

Programs like Portfolios are becoming common among universities, Metzger said, especially medical schools, which will soon be required to have them by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME, the accrediting body for all U.S. medical schools) to have a system in place for students to evaluate career options and apply for residency programs.

“The good news is that we are way ahead of the requirement that is coming from the LCME,” Metzger said.

Portfolios was started in 2012 as a pilot project in the College of Public Health (COPH), in collaboration with Deanna Wathington, MD, MPH, associate dean for COPH Academic and Student Affairs, and David Hogeboom, MSPH, statistical data analyst at COPH. The goal was for COPH students to build a strong portfolio based on their degree work as they progressed toward graduation.

Portfolios quickly became the go-to place to track academic experience and has been expanded to now include all USF Health students, said Anne Jones, project manager for USF Health Information Systems, which designed and implemented Portfolios.

“A program like this is vital for student success in today’s academic settings,” Jones said. “Having a place to interact with mentors and accumulate countless details that can then be customized to fit every career need is invaluable.”

Hands-on experience with the program proved the point, as well.

“Student portfolios are a means of building your career visibility in a focused manner, avoiding duplication of efforts,” said Samuel Matos-Bastidas, a doctoral student in the College of Public Health.

“The Graduate Student Portfolio is a helpful tool to track relevant information throughout your graduate program,” said Kristin Steffen, a master’s student in the College of Public Health. “It helps me to know what competencies I am mastering as I progress through the Master’s program here in the College of Public Health.”

And the expansion to every USF Health student greater opportunities for lining up careers.

“Our curriculum reinforces the concept of developing a professional portfolio to be used as a networking tool in residency showcases, professional events and job opportunities,” said José G. León-Burgos, second-year student in the College of Pharmacy, who helped USF Health IS test the Portfolios expansion. “I think this digital portfolio will streamline the process of keeping our portfolio updated and I know that my colleagues will be very excited to start using this program.”

Mary Striby, USF Health IS assistant director of application development, was part of the team who unveiled Portfolios  to USF Health students at the grand opening of The WELL, the new student services center for USF Health students.

Some of the key features of USF Health Student Portfolios include:
• Pools all of your information to create a strong and in-depth CV.
• Allows for info from beyond the classroom, like community service, jobs, and outside activities.
• Data merges into Word so it can be rearranged to customize as needed.
• Accessible by advisors, mentors and counselors via log-in to track program progression and offer suggestions.
• Offers full access beyond graduation to continue adding career details.
• Merges with GEMS so USF teaching and research employment can be easily added.
• Offers flexibility in reporting for customized bio sketches.
• Uploads event attendance with a swipe of ID card, which instantly fills the calendar section of Portfolios.

There is no registering; every student with current USF Health account can login and start inputting information to build an academic experience portfolio.
Visit now – Portfolios.health.usf.edu

Story by Sarah Worth, photos by Eric Younghans, USF Health Office of Communications