Abstract
BackgroundAccreditation is a key feature of many medical education systems, helping to ensure that programs teach and assess learners according to applicable standards, provide optimal learning environments, and produce professionals who are competent to practise in challenging and evolving health care systems. Although most medical education accreditation systems apply similar standards domains and process elements, there can be substantial variation among accreditation systems at the level of design and implementation. A discussion group at the 2013 World Summit on Outcomes-Based Accreditation examined best practices in health professional education accreditation systems and identified that the literature examining the effectiveness of different approaches to accreditation is scant. Although some frameworks for accreditation design do exist, they are often specific to one phase of the medical education continuum.Main textThis paper attempts to define a framework for the operational design of medical education accreditation that articulates design options as well as their contextual and practical implications. It assumes there is no single set of best practices in accreditation system development but, rather, an underlying set of design decisions. A “fit for purpose” approach aims to ensure that a system, policy, or program is designed and operationalized in a manner best suited to local needs and contexts. This approach is aligned with emerging models for education and international development that espouse decentralization.ConclusionThe framework highlights that, rather than a single best practice, variation among accreditation systems is appropriate provided that is it tailored to the needs of local contexts. Our framework is intended to provide guidance to administrators, policy-makers, and educators regarding different approaches to medical education accreditation and their applicability and appropriateness in local contexts.
Highlights
This paper attempts to define a framework for the operational design of medical education accreditation that articulates design options as well as their contextual and practical implications
Accreditation is a powerful lever of quality assurance (QA) and quality improvement (QI) in medical education
It is a key feature of many medical education systems, helping to ensure that programs teach and assess learners according to applicable standards, provide optimal learning environments, and produce professionals who are competent to practise in challenging and rapidly evolving health care systems
Summary
A “fit for purpose” framework for accreditation system design A “fit for purpose” approach aims to ensure that a system, policy, or program is designed and operationalized in a manner best suited to local needs and contexts. The results of a system or program’s self-study can provide additional information to the accrediting body in its evaluation of compliance with standards, and is often a required component of the accreditation process, for earlier stages of the medical education continuum (i.e., undergraduate education) and in systems with a particular focus on QA. Accreditation system administration Technological infrastructure The role of technology and other infrastructure in supporting the accreditation system is driven largely by practical considerations, such as the resources available to the accrediting body to invest in technology and automation, and whether automation can provide benefits to the accrediting body and those programs it accredits with respect to efficiencies, cost savings, and standardization Some design options, such as more continuous accreditation processes supported by the regular submission of data or information, may be feasible only with the introduction of technological platforms. This work would lead to a better understanding of variations across accreditation systems worldwide, as well as to further refinements to the framework itself
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