The next step in the accreditation process for the proposed Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine at Washington State University Spokane is for administrators and staff to submit a self-study before the end of 2015 that tackles issues of future funding and spending.

WSU communications and public affairs director Terren Roloff says the study soon will be submitted to the national Liaison Committee on Medical Education.

Based in Washington, D.C., the LCME is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as the primary accrediting body of medical education programs across the country.

In addition to the financial implications, the study will address the curriculum that will be taught to students and the infrastructure in place to support them.

“So many people have worked extremely hard to get to this place in time when a new dean has been hired, and the self-study is nearly ready for submission,” Roloff says.

In September, WSU’s Board of Regents named Dr. John Tomkowiak, dean of the Chicago Medical School, as the inaugural dean of the medical college here.

Along with serving as dean of the medical school in Chicago, Tomkowiak has been serving as president of the Rosalind Franklin University Health System and as executive vice president for clinical affairs for Rosalind Franklin University, in Chicago.

In an announcement about his appointment, Lisa Brown, chancellor at WSU Health Sciences Spokane, said Tomkowiak’s professional background aligns well with several specific health sciences programs on the Spokane campus, such as in behavioral health and addictive research. It also will align well with a new psychiatry residency program that will be in the soon-to-open Spokane Teaching Health Clinic, whose goal is to increase medical residency positions in Spokane, Brown said.

 Overall, Roloff says, “The excitement level is very high. In some ways, we are in awe that what began just over a year ago with our late President Elson S. Floyd and Chancellor Lisa Brown announcing plans to apply for accreditation is already coming to fruition.”

 “The partnerships on campus and with the community have allowed us to move swiftly. It has been an exhilarating project to work on, with many, many hands on deck,” she says.

Medical school officials are anticipating being able to have preliminary accreditation by about this time next year, which would allow for the recruiting of the first charter class. The first students would be admitted in fall 2016 and spring 2017.

As currently envisioned, the first students would be taught at the med school starting in the fall of 2017. It’s expected that provisional accreditation would be granted in the spring of 2018, which then would allow for clinical instruction to occur for third- and fourth-year students.

Preliminary accreditation will allow the med school to recruit and admit students, while provisional accreditation allows those students accepted to continue into their third year of training, says Ken Roberts, vice dean of WSU’s med school.

“The review criteria are appropriate to the stage of development,” Roberts says. “That means, preliminary accreditation has a larger focus on year one and two requirements and provisional on the education program for years three and four.”

The LCME serves as the overseeing body with each step of the accreditation process.

Medical school officials believe WSU can achieve full accreditation in five years—by fall 2020—enabling students to apply for residencies and graduate with medical degrees, says WSU’s website.

The timeline projects the first charter class to graduate by the spring of 2021.