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Introduction
After an applicant school provides complete documentation and the
Evaluator reports the school is prepared for site visitors, staff will
establish dates agreeable to the school and site visitors. The list
below provides basic information on approved, qualified medical school
site visitors.
Site visitors were enlisted principally from faculty attending the
Association of American Medical Colleges Annual Meeting in the years
2005 and 2006. Below is the exhibit as it appeared in Seattle Washington
shortly before the Exhibit hall was opened.
click here for site visitor panel list
International
Association of Medical Colleges
Site Visitor Panel
Reasons for
maintaining a Site Visitor Panel
The International Association of Medical Colleges (IAOMC) is dedicated
to enhance medical education using international standards of
accreditation. A Site Visitor Panel Member is one who has indicated a
willingness to serve as a site visitor or evaluator, submitted their CV,
found qualified by the President, referred to the Trustees for approval
and has been approved. The Panel provides a sufficient number of
pre-qualified, impartial individuals to allow availability for selected
dates. To publicly insure expertise and impartiality the site visitor’s
qualifications are published. The site visitor panelist will be divided
into one or more of three categories, basic science, clinical scientist
and administrator.
The Site visitor panel is independent; its members bi-annually elect the
panel’s Chair and Secretary from among its members. The current Panel
Chair will have a voting, permanent seat on the Board of Trustees. The
Panel has its own by laws.
Applications.
An applicant for either an evaluator or site visitor position must
forward his or her curriculum vitae to the Panel’s Chair. An applicant
may be retired as long as the panel Chair determines the applicant is
current in medical affairs.
New Panel member selection.
The panel’s Chair will first review an applicant site visitor’s CV
for apparent compliance with the stated requirements. If compliant the
Chair will then send an email proposal of acceptance to all Panel
members. Thus new site visitors are reviewed and recommended by the
Chair and elected by the site visitor panel. Appeal: if not in apparent
compliance the applicant will be advised of the reason for such a
finding. Should the applicant contest the negative finding they may
appeal to the Chair in writing indicating the reasons why. Should the
Chair overrule the earlier finding copies of all correspondence shall
automatically be reviewed by the Trustees at their next meeting.
Team selection.
After the Evaluator finds apparent compliance he/she notifies the
school and the Site Visitor Panel Chair. The Chair will notify all
panelist of the upcoming site visit and determine which members wish to
considered. Each interested panelist needs to determine if there may be
a conflict of interest or if there is any apparent conflict of interest.
There is no obligation for any site visitor to visit any school or to
explain why they choose not to visit that school. Selection of
individual five site visitors to serve on any school site visiting team
will be done by the Panel’s elected Chair in an open and transparent
process. An individual’s experience and expertise will be used as the
Chair’s primary basis of selection for any category. An attempt will be
made to insure that all panel members serve an equal number of times
since their appointment. Preference will be given to those with longer
experience and/or greater responsibility for the first assignments. Site
visitors’ expertise is focused in three separate areas of medical
education: basic science, clinical science and administration. Each team
will have two basic scientist, two clinical scientist and one
administrator. When the Chair has chosen a complete panel their CV’s are
sent to applicant school. Applicant school has ten days to file written
objection to any proposed site visitor for Board determination. When the
site visitors are finally selected the evaluator will forward site
visitor’s proposed instructions to the applicant for review and comment.
The time for the school applicant to provide any comment or objection to
the proposed instructions is one week after receipt of the site visitor
instructions. When this process is complete and the school has paid the
expense of the review the Chair will schedule the site visit.
Consideration will be given to convenient dates for the applicant
school, and Government Panel Chair.
International Evaluator and Site visitor Qualifications
The minimum requirement for appointment to become an evaluator is no
less than;
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10 years as a full time medical
educator, with five years of those years as a senior faculty member
and have been a site visitor no less than three times, or
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15 years experience as a medical
school regulator, with duties that include evaluation of medical
schools and have been a site visitor no less than three times and
Chair of a visiting team at least once.
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An evaluator will receive an
honorarium of $500.00 per day.
The minimum requirement for appointment to the panel of site
visitors is no less than
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7 years as a full time medical
educator with three years as a senior faculty member, or
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10 years experience as a medical
school regulator with duties that include site visiting and
reporting.
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Site visitor panel membership is
voluntary and uncompensated, except each site visitor will receive
an honorarium of $350.00 per day plus expenses for each of the
allowed customary five visiting days. This will cover the time to
travel, visit the site and write a report. All travel, hotel, dining
and extraordinary expenses will be reimbursed.
Site Visitor
Training.
A site visitor applicant that fulfills the requirements in the
preceding section, but has little or no experience as a site visitor
must take a training course before going on a site visit. Class size is
limited to approximately 10 students. The course will be one or two days
in length. Materials will be sent in advance and must be mastered before
class begins.
Evaluator Training.
Any site visitors who have been on one or more site visits and
wishes to become an evaluator may begin training to become an evaluator.
They will be trained as an apprentice under the personal tutelage of a
regular panel evaluator. When an individual has satisfactorily completed
an apprenticeship and been on a sufficient number there is a need for an
additional evaluator, the Chair will add their name to the evaluator
panel.
Dismissal.
Any site visitor participating on a site visit team that has an
undeclared bias or has engaged in unethical conduct may be dismissed
from the panel. The determination to dismiss a panelist for such reason
may only be done on recommendation of the Chair and a majority of the
panel members voting for such dismissal.
Should the President determine, after consultation with the Chair, that
the current number of panelist should be expanded; the role of the panel
Chair will be to solicit applications. On receipt of applications the
Chair will promptly review and either proposes to approve/disapprove an
applicant.
Any public comment will be considered by the evaluator and site
visitors. Little weight will be given to unsigned or unsubstantiated
reports. Evaluator will consider any applicant comments or objections
and send the instructions to site visitors’ team.
Secretary.
The Panel secretary will maintain the records of the panel in an
accurate, open and transparent manner and publicly post them on the
Association’s website. The Secretary will also send, receive, and record
email votes and forward the outcome for posting on IAOMC’s web site.
When a conference call is necessary the Secretary will prepare the
agenda, notify the members and make the necessary arrangements. The
Panel’s business, elections, selection of site visitors, approval of
panel applicants, or other decisions made will be open and transparent.
Copies will be forwarded by the Panel Secretary to anyone requesting
them.
Voting.
Any Panel matter may be voted on by taped, transcribed conference call,
e-mail or regular mail ballot. The position of the members will be
democratically determined by vote at any duly called lawful meeting in
which a quorum is present. More than 50% 0f the panel members shall
constitute a quorum. Decisions shall be made by a majority vote of those
members voting. Separate email rules will govern email voting.
The exchange of thoughts and ideas will be principally by email, fax or
regular mail. Conference calls will be authorized by the Chair when
required. The electronic forum will allow an orderly global free flow of
ideas. To implement electronic decision making the following system of
email voting will be used. The Panel members will meet electronically or
by conference call as often as the need requires. They may meet in
person at such time and place as may be determined by the Panel Chair in
consultation with and concurrence of IAOMC Board.
Any panel concern, report and/ or recommendation will automatically be
added to the next IAOMC Board agenda.
Any signed petition or resolution prepared in which 3/4th of the panel
membership waive notice of meeting and unanimously agree will be binding
on those who chose not to participate
Site Visitor Protocol
The Role of the Evaluator.
The Panel Chair chooses the evaluator for each medical school’s
application.
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First Review; Completeness.
The evaluator’s first review of an applicant medical school’s
documents will be for completeness. Should he/she determine any
document is missing or that the protocol for self evaluation has not
been substantially followed he will write the applicant school with
a copy to the Chair detailing his/her findings. When the evaluator
determines the application is complete a notice is posted on IAOMC
website stating; “- [school name]- has made application for review
and accreditation, any person or organization wishing to make
comment is invited to do so.”
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Second Review; Apparent Compliance.
After the evaluator finds the application complete his/her next
review is for apparent compliance with IAOMC standards. When the
evaluator finds the applicant school in apparent compliance he/she
promptly notifies the Site Visitor Panel Chair and applicant school.
The evaluator also sends the Panel Chair verification instructions
along with a copy of all documents.
The Role of the Panel Chair is
detailed in; “Team selection” above.
The Role of the Site Visitors Qualified expert medical educators serve
as site visitors to;
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confirm the established self study
protocols have been followed,
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verify the applicant’s data and
documents,
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respond to the points raised by the
evaluator,
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insure the quality of education is in
compliance with IAOMC’s global standards.
Timing.
Site visitors arrive and normally complete their review within the
three scheduled days.
Reporting.
Each site visitor provides his or her report to the Chair of the
site visiting team within a week of his or her return. The Team Chair
prepares a summary report to the Evaluator within the following week and
attaches the site visitor’s reports. The applicant receives a copy of
this report and may also provide written comment to the Evaluator. When
there are distant hospitals or office sites an additional honorarium
will be paid. The full site visiting team may be reduced to two members
for distant sites. The Chair will maintain a log of hours for conducting
site visitor business and will be paid on the basis of an 8 hour day.
The Chair will
receive an honorarium of $350.00 per day and be reimbursed for travel,
hotel, dining and extraordinary expenses.
Electing the Panel Chair and Secretary.
If at any time during the terms of the Chair or Secretary they should
become disabled, die or retire, the President shall nominate a successor
from among the panel members to serve the balance of the term. Both the
Chair and Secretary will be elected for a period of two years from among
those panel members willing serve in those respective offices. Shortly
prior to the end of their terms the Secretary will inquire of all panel
members if they are willing to serve as Chair or Secretary of the panel.
Four days later the names of all willing to serve will be sent to all
members for their selection of Secretary by email vote. The person with
the highest number of votes will assume the office. The first election
will be completed by the President following the process outlined above.
Thereafter, the panel officers will conduct the panel’s elections.
Electronic mail voting
First,
Only the Site Visitor Chair or Secretary may submit an e-mail
proposal to all other site visitors.
Second.
Each panel member will automatically be required to vote within
seventy two hours of the time sent. The seventy two hour period excludes
weekends and holidays. Failure to timely respond results in a forfeiture
of the right to vote on the immediate proposal
Third.
Any email voting proposal shall have the following preset voter
options that follow the proposal; A. Approve B. Disapprove C. Approve
with policy modification, D. This issue requires a telephone conference.
E. Abstain. A voter may add such comment as they may choose. The
majority of voters shall rule.
Fourth.
It will be presumed a proposal simultaneously sent to all members
will have been received by each of them if it has not been returned to
sender.
Fifth.
It is the responsibility of each voting member and/or alternate to
maintain and monitor a current operating e-mail address that has been
provided to all those entitled to vote.
Sixth.
Any and all email voting reply shall be by replying to all voters
simultaneously.
Seventh.
A voting irregularities shall be finally resolved by the Advisory
Council Executive Committee.
Additional By-Laws.
Any section of the site visitor by-laws may be amended by two thirds of
the entire voting site visitor panel members or a majority of the IAOMC
Board.
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