The delegates referred the Wyoming request, along with a report from the AMA's Council on Medical Education, back to the AMA Board of Trustees for action, urging that the AMA call for LCME accreditation for all allopathic medical schools operating in this country. The board discussed the matter last month but has not yet made a final recommendation on it, said Wendy Curran, Wyoming Medical Society executive director. As a result, at its annual meeting this month, the state society passed another resolution calling for AMA action on the matter. John Nelson, MD, an AMA trustee from Salt Lake City, said the AMA board had concerns about pressing too hard on the issue and possibly undermining the voluntary nature of the LCME accreditation process. The Wyoming resolution, in effect, asks the AMA to approve a policy that would make accreditation mandatory.
Accreditation is voluntary.
We can provide information. We are not sure what much else we can do. Dr. Nelson said the AMA planned to formulate a more comprehensive policy on foreign medical schools that seek to locate branches within the United States. Another school, Kagezi University in Uganda, unsuccessfully tried to open a campus in Washington state last year. Among obstacles for the AMA in advocating on the issue, Curran said, is the threat of antitrust charges.