The Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) is the ‘gatekeeper’ for entry to the medical profession in the U.S., certifying graduation in good standing from medical schools elsewhere in the world. In 2010, ECFMG announced that from 2023 (later changed to 2024), overseas doctors will only be eligible for certification if they have graduated from a medical school that is accredited by a ‘recognized’ agency.
This policy empowered the World Federation of Medical Education (WFME) to create a recognition programme for regulatory agencies in 2012. This presentation summarizes the findings of a series of research studies that have examined the context around this programme and what it tells us about the state of global medical education. Specifically, it will examine the evidence base around accreditation in medical education and consider possible alternative models for regulating medical schools around the world.
Presenter Bios
Ahmed Rashid is a physician and education scientist with expertise in international medical education.
His current appointments are as Professor of Medical Education at University College London (UCL), where he is Vice Dean (International) at the UCL Faculty of Medical Sciences, and Director of the UCL Centre for International Medical Education Collaborations (CIMEC), where he leads a portfolio of international partnerships with medical schools in several different countries. He has additionally held national leadership roles in medical education in the UK, including formerly as Medical Director for International Education at the Royal College of General Practitioners and currently as Chief Examiner for the General Medical Council PLAB exam, that internationally qualified doctors must pass to work clinically in the UK. He has an extensive track record in medical school accreditation both in the UK and overseas. He has worked for the Ministries of Higher Education in the UAE and Bahrain as an accreditation review panel member and chair and advised on national accreditation systems in various other countries.