LAS VEGAS (AP) - The University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Medicine has been granted full accreditation in the U.S., campus and state university administrators announced Friday.
Recognition by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education completed a process that began in 2016, before the charter class of students arrived at the school in July 2017. Those students are due to graduate in May.
UNLV President Keith Whitfield called accreditation a testament to faculty, staff and “exceptional future physicians who are committed to improving health care in southern Nevada.”
Mark Doubrava, chairman of the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents, cited efforts by the first deans at the school - doctors Barbara Atkinson, John Fildes and Marc Kahn - in reaching accreditation during what Doubrava called challenging times.
Accreditation means the school has been found to meet or exceed standards for structure, function and performance. The Liaison Committee on Medical Education accredits about 175 schools in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.
The school at UNLV currently has 240 students, 150 faculty physicians and more than 300 medical residents and fellows.
A five-story Medical Education Building being built in partnership with the Nevada Health and Bioscience Corp. is due for completion in 2022 near downtown Las Vegas.
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