I have changed this web page because I did not want to distract from the plans of the faculty and leadership at Florida State who are attempting a difficult and necessary project. I have full confidence that they will be able to do their jobs.
Although I am certainly an advocate for medical education for the underserved, it is also necessary to ensure accuracy in research and reporting of information. I do believe that I was accurate in the information provided. My tone and comparisons were provocative and could result in the inhibition of the very kind of efforts that we all support.
In this case the real work goes on locally. There should be no distractions from this work. Hopefully FSU and LCME will be able to work this out quickly so that they can get on with the work.
The community driven or community responsive medical education strategy that I am so passionate about must involve the cooperation of a number of groups, institutions, and individuals. Accreditation is a key part of this. Over time it is my hope that rural medical educators will continue to work with LCME, ACGME, and the various specialty boards and medical organizations so that they have a better understanding of the needs, assets, and environment of rural practice and rural medical education. We have much more to gain together than we could possibly accomplish in conflict.
Robert C. Bowman, M.D. 5/10/2002