Dear Penn State College of Medicine,

We have begun a very special process. It may surprise you to think about our College of Medicine LCME self-study and accreditation process that way, yet it is a wonderful opportunity and a privilege for us to study ourselves and work together to improve our medical education program. We begin this self-study with a strong educational base that will be even stronger as we reflect and share ideas over the next two years.

By far the main goal of the LCME accreditation process is to promote institutional self-evaluation and improvement. This is CQI – the continuous quality improvement we strive for in our clinical, research and education missions. It is practice-based learning and improvement; the same competency we expect of our students and residents. It is our time to engage in learning and improvement on an institutional level.

The LCME self-study process gives us the opportunity as a College of Medicine to take the next step as a learning organization. As defined by Peter Senge, a learning organization is an environment “where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to see the whole together.” The LCME review process provides us with an intensely reflective and peer-reviewed approach to achieving this goal.

We can work together over the next two years to create the results we truly desire. We can do this by continually learning and improving together. An LCME self-study takes the work of the whole institution. We are so fortunate to have all of you with us as we do this important work.

Welcome to our LCME self-study and accreditation process.

With thanks for all you do for medical education at Penn State,

A. Craig Hillemeier, M.D. Dean, College of Medicine CEO, Penn State Health Senior VP for Health Affairs, Penn State University	Terry Wolpaw, MD, MHPE Professor of Medicine Vice Dean for Educational Affairs