Immunization requirements in medical school accreditation standards

Abstract

Healthcare workers (HCW) are at risk of contracting vaccine-preventable diseases and spreading these infections to their patients. Vaccination against preventable diseases prior to clinical training can mitigate this risk. Accreditation guidance can be used as an opportunity to enforce desirable norms and standards. Standards from 144 national accreditation organizations spanning 123 member states listed in the Directory of Organizations that Recognize/Accredit Medical Schools by the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research were reviewed and summarized. Findings were further stratified by World Bank income group and WHO region. While higher-income countries were more likely to have accreditation guidelines available than lower- or middle-income countries, few national medical school accreditation bodies specifically request immunization status of trainees as a standard. Further, almost none mention specific antigens for which immunity should be assessed. These findings should be used by medical school and other health professional training accreditation bodies to inform future policy direction to protect trainees as future HCW.