Abstract

BOELEN, Charles. Making a greater impact on society as a mark of excellence in the accreditation of medical schools. FEM (Ed. impresa) [online]. 2017, vol.20, n.5, pp.213-216.  Epub Aug 16, 2021. ISSN 2014-9840.  https://dx.doi.org/10.33588/fem.205.913.

With challenges societies are facing to establish and maintain efficient, equitable and sustainable health care delivery systems, all key stakeholders are urged to question how they can best contribute. Likewise, academic institutions, medical schools particularly, must review the concept of excellence to include the capacity to make a more significant contribution to health system performance and people's health. The continuing adaptation of education, research and service delivery missions to respond to evolving health needs of society should be enhanced by the use of appropriate accreditation standards and mechanisms. Accreditation standards of the Liaison Committee for Medical Education (LCME), of the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) and the Conférence Internationale des Doyens et des Facultés de Médecine d'Expression Française (CIDMEF) have been reviewed in this context. It is observed than they mainly concentrate on medical education content and processes. It is therefore recommended that their standards be revisited and new ones added to better reflect the concept of social accountability, which is illustrated by the three tier engagement: to identify present and future health needs of the population, including health determinants, to adapt missions accordingly and to the ensure anticipated effects have occurred on people's health status. To initiate change, a course of future actions is proposed.

Keywords : Academic excellence; Accountability; Accreditation standards; Health system; Medical school; Social.

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