Or. Admin. Code § 847-031-0010 - Criteria for Approval of Foreign Schools of Medicine

A foreign school of medicine must meet the following criteria to be approved by the Oregon Medical Board.

(1) Objectives: A foreign school of medicine shall have a program designed to prepare graduates to enter and complete graduate medical education to qualify for licensure, and to provide competent medical care.

(2) Governance: A foreign school of medicine shall be chartered by the jurisdiction in which it operates.

(3) Administration:

(a) The administrative officers and members of the foreign school medicine faculty shall be appointed by, or under the authority of, the governing board of the foreign school of medicine or its parent university.

(b) The dean of the foreign school of medicine shall be qualified by education and experience to provide leadership in medical education and in the care of patients.

(c) The manner in which the foreign school of medicine is organized, including the responsibilities and privileges of administrative officers, faculty, students and committees shall be promulgated in medical school or university bylaws.

(d) If components of the program are conducted at sites geographically separated from the main campus, the foreign school of medicine shall be fully responsible for the conduct and quality of the educational program at these sites and for identification of the faculty there.

(4) Educational Program for the M.D./D.O. degree:

(a) Duration: The program in the art and science of medicine leading to the M.D./D.O. degree shall include at least 130 weeks of instruction preferably scheduled over a minimum of four calendar years.

(b) Design and Management: The program's faculty shall be responsible for the design, implementation, and evaluation of the curriculum.

(c) Content:

(A) The program's faculty shall be responsible for devising a curriculum that permits the student to learn the fundamental principles of medicine, to acquire skills of critical judgment based on evidence and experience, and to develop an ability to use principles and skills wisely in solving problems of health and disease. In addition, the curriculum shall be designed so that students acquire an understanding of the scientific concepts underlying medicine.

(B) The curriculum shall include the contemporary content of those expanded disciplines that have been traditionally titled anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, microbiology and immunology, pathology, pharmacology and therapeutics, and preventive medicine. Instruction within the basic sciences shall include laboratory or other practical exercises which facilitate ability to make accurate quantitative observations of biomedical phenomena and critical analyses of data.

(C) The fundamental clinical subjects which shall be offered in the form of required patient-related clerkships are internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry, and surgery. Under these disciplines or independently, students shall receive basic instruction in all organ systems. Instruction and experience in patient care shall be provided in both hospital and ambulatory settings and shall include the important aspects of acute, chronic, preventive and rehabilitative care.

(D) Each required clerkship shall allow the student to undertake a thorough study of a series of selected patients having the major and common types of disease problems represented in the primary and related disciplines of the clerkship.

(E) Supervision shall be provided throughout required clerkships by members of the school's faculty. The required clerkships shall be conducted in a teaching hospital or ambulatory care facility where residents in accredited programs of graduate medical education, under faculty guidance, may participate in teaching the students.

(d) Evaluation of Student Achievement:

(A) A committee of the faculty shall establish principles and methods for the evaluation of student achievement and make decisions regarding promotion and graduation.

(B) The faculty of each discipline shall set the standards of achievement by students in the study of the discipline. Narrative descriptions of student performance and of non-cognitive achievements shall be recorded to supplement grade reports.

(C) The chief academic officer and the directors of all courses and clerkships shall design and implement a system of evaluation of the work of each student during progression through each course or clerkship.

(5) Medical Students. Admissions:

(a) The faculty of each foreign school of medicine shall develop criteria and procedures for the selection of students which shall be published and available to potential applicants and to their collegiate advisors.

(b) The selection of students for the study of medicine shall be the responsibility of the foreign school of medicine faculty through a duly constituted committee.

(c) The number of students to be admitted shall be determined by the resources of the school and the number of qualified applicants. The clinical resources include finances, the size of the faculty, the variety of academic fields represented, the library, the number and size of classrooms and student laboratories and the adequacy of their equipment and office and laboratory space for the faculty. There shall be available a spectrum of clinical resources sufficiently under the control of the faculty to ensure breadth and quality of bedside and ambulatory clinical teaching.

(6) Resources for the Educational Program:

(a) General Facilities: A foreign school of medicine shall provide buildings and equipment that are quantitatively and qualitatively adequate to provide an environment conducive to teaching and learning. The facilities shall include faculty offices and research laboratories, student classrooms and laboratories, facilities for individual and group study, offices for administrative and support staff, and a library. Access to an auditorium sufficiently large to accommodate the student body is desirable.

(b) Faculty:

(A) Members of the faculty shall have evidence of clinical competence and commitment to teaching. Effective teaching requires understanding of pedagogy, knowledge of the discipline, and construction of a curriculum consistent with learning objectives, subject to internal and external formal evaluation. The Administration and the faculty shall have knowledge of methods for measurement of the student performance in accordance with the stated educational objectives and national norms.

(B) In each of the major disciplines basic to medicine and in the clinical sciences, a critical mass of faculty members shall be appointed who possess, in addition to a comprehensive knowledge of their major discipline, expertise in one or more subdivisions or specialties within each of their disciplines. In the clinical sciences, the number and kind of specialists appointed shall relate to the amount of patient care activities required to conduct meaningful clinical teaching at the undergraduate level, as well as for graduate and continuing medical education.

(C) There shall be clear policies for the appointment, renewal of appointment, promotion, granting of tenure and dismissal of members of the faculty. The appointment process shall involve the faculty, the appropriate departmental heads, and the dean. Each appointee shall receive a clear definition of the terms of appointment, responsibilities, line of communication, privileges and benefits.

(c) Library: The foreign school of medicine shall have a well-maintained and catalogued library, sufficient in size and breadth to support the educational programs offered by the institution. The library should receive the leading biomedical and clinical periodicals, the current numbers of which should be readily accessible. The library and any other learning resources shall be equipped to allow students to learn methods of retrieving information, as well as the use of self-instruction materials. A professional library staff shall supervise the library and provide instruction in its use.

(d) Clinical Teaching Facilities:

(A) The foreign school of medicine shall have adequate resources to provide clinical instruction to its medical students. Resources shall include ambulatory care facilities and hospitals where the full spectrum of medical care is provided and can be demonstrated. Each hospital shall either be accredited or otherwise demonstrate its capability to provide safe and effective care. The number of hospital beds required for education cannot be specified by formula, but the aggregation of clinical resources shall be sufficient to permit students in each of the major clerkships to work up and follow several new patients each week.

(B) The nature of the relationship of the foreign school of medicine to affiliated hospitals and other clinical resources is extremely important.

(C) There shall be written affiliation agreements that define the responsibilities of each party. The degree of the schools authority shall reflect the extent that the affiliated clinical facility participates in the educational programs of the school. Most critical are the clinical facilities where required clinical clerkships are conducted. In affiliated institutions, the school's department heads and senior clinical faculty members shall have authority consistent with their responsibility for the instruction of the students.

Notes

Or. Admin. Code § 847-031-0010

BME 9-2001, f. & cert. ef. 7-24-01

Stat. Auth.: ORS 677.265