Building excellence into medical and health professional education programs

Abstract

There is a need for schools that train medical and health professionals to reflect on whether their education program is aligned to current demands and challenges. Such a reflection is not a luxury but a necessity, as achieving minimum standards is not enough. A school should aim for excellence and incorporate best practice in their education program. The ASPIRE-to-Excellence award panels have elaborated on examples of excellence in a number of themes in medical and health professional education. These are presented in a series of articles to be published in Medical Teacher in 2024 and 2025. The frameworks and critical elements described in these articles may be used by institutions as a first step in an evaluation of their program. The frameworks and elements described and examples can be used as a resource for schools and other healthcare learning organizations to consider as they endeavor to improve their education program.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

James Rourke

James Rourke is former chair of the ASPIRE Board, founding chair of the ASPIRE Social Accountability Panel and Associate Editor of the Medical Teacher series Building Excellence into Medical and Health Professional Education Programs.

Kulsoom Ghias

Kulsoom Ghias is Vice Chair of the ASPIRE Board, Past Chair of the ASPIRE Academy and Associate Editor of the Medical Teacher series Building Excellence into Medical and Health Professional Education Programs.

Pat Lilley

Pat Lilley is Managing Editor of Medical Teacher and a former member of the ASPIRE Board.

Ronald Harden

Ronald Harden is Editor-in-Chief of Medical Teacher and a member of the ASPIRE Board.