Dr. Sara Kim will be stepping down from her role as associate dean for Educational Quality Improvement (EQI), effective May 31, 2025. UWSOM would like to thank Dr. Kim for her 10 years of service in this important, inaugural position.
Since accepting the role in July 2015, Dr. Kim has led the medical school’s LCME (Liaison Committee on Medical Education) accreditation work including the 2018 LCME site visit and the upcoming 2026 LCME site visit. Her many accomplishments include establishing the Educational Quality Improvement (EQI) Office, ensuring compliance with the 93 LCME accreditation standards, and developing and implementing continuous quality improvement initiatives for the medical student education program. Under her leadership—and in close partnership with other leaders, faculty, staff, and medical students—the number of citations from the 2018 LCME site visit have been addressed with only one citation remaining. She leaves the role with a critical infrastructure in place for the 2026 LCME site visit.
Dr. Kim reflects on her 10-year tenure: “When I first stepped into the EQI role, I knew the day-to-day tasks were going to be deeply technical and, therefore, dry. Quickly, I learned to find joy in the work, inspired by my colleagues and the students’ motivations to solve problems and improve our educational quality. I thank all of you for offering your services and support over the years.”
She adds: “In particular, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Jung Lee, Rhea Fagnan, and Dorothy Lu on the EQI team. You made me a better leader and person through your dedicated work and candid feedback. You truly are wonderful assets to the school.”
Dr. Kim will remain at UW Medicine where she looks forward to serving as executive and professional development coach in the Department of Surgery.