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Schulich has 38 residents and 91 faculty in its anesthesiology program, one of about 50 post-graduate programs it offers. Anesthesiologists are medical doctors specially trained in pain medicine and sedating patients during surgery. Doctors can pursue the specialty after receiving their four-year medical degree.

Exactly what prompted the recommendation is not yet clear, said Dr. Chris Watling, associate dean of postgraduate medical education at Schulich.

“The short answer is we do not know what problems or areas for improvement were identified, ” Watling said. “All we’ve had is a quick, five- to 10-minute exit meeting for them to say, ‘This is the recommendation.’ ”

The surveyors will put their findings in a report, listing program strengths and areas needing improvement, that will be shared with the medical school.

A final decision on whether to put the program on notice won’t be made until the colleges review the surveyors’ reports in the spring, Watling said. If they endorse the recommendation, Schulich will have two years to rectify concerns and maintain the program’s certification.

A notice of intent to withdraw accreditation is not “exceptionally common,” but not unheard of, Watling noted.

“I expect that every medical school in the country has had, or will have, programs with a notice of intent to withdraw accreditation from time to time,” he said. “It has happened at Western before (but) it doesn’t happen often.”