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School of Podiatric Medicine earns continued accreditation through 2016

Gladys Amador
(305)899-4919

Miami Shores, Fla. – Barry University’s School of Podiatric Medicine recently received their continued accreditation through 2016 by the Council on Podiatric Medicine Education (CPME) – the maximum allowed under the guidelines.

The findings were released in November concluding the CPME accreditation process, which included an on-campus site team review in February 2009. While on campus, CPME representatives met with faculty, students, field educators and curriculum committees, as well as university administrators. When releasing their findings, they were particularly impressed with the university’s ability to make significant contributions to the development of the School of Podiatric Medicine. These findings were made evident by the new building housing the school, the Center for Community Health and Minority Medicine, and the remodeled anatomy laboratory and lecture halls on the main campus in Wiegand Hall. The lab is now called the Bako Pathology Services Anatomy Lab in honor of Dr. Bradley Bakotic, D.P.M., D.O., a Barry alumnus, class of 1992 who provided a grant for the renovation.

“I am very grateful to the Interim Dean, Dr. John (Jack) Nelson, for the leadership he exercised, to Dr. Linda Peterson and Dr. Kit Starratt who assisted him and the podiatry faculty with the strategic plan, and to the faculty, staff, and students for their hard work, cooperation and support throughout this process,” said Sister Linda Bevilacqua in an email congratulating the School of Podiatric Medicine on the accreditation.

Accreditation is a process whereby an education institution – or program within this institution – is assessed for educational quality based on nationally developed standards, and serves as a public statement of these standards and commitment to educational quality. The School of Podiatric Medicine has been accredited through 2016.

CPME representatives reviewed every aspect of the school and the podiatric medical education including the curriculum, faculty, goals, objectives, syllabi, library services, academic computing, financial aid and student services as well as the physical plant. They noted the excellent quality of the hospital based educational clinical rotations such as the Miami VA Medical Center, Mercy Hospital, Mount Sinai Hospital, North Shore Medical Center, Hialeah Hospital and Jackson Memorial.

“Personally, I have a new found appreciation on how difficult it is to be a dean; it is a tremendous responsibility that few professors realize and appreciate however, positive accreditation reports such as this, makes it all worthwhile,” said Dr. Nelson, who took over as interim dean in February of this year.

Barry University’s School of Podiatric Medicine serves more than 228 students, from freshman to senior year and 12 full-time faculty and more than 30 adjuncts.