Examining the WFME Recognition Programme at 10 years

Abstract

Background

In 2012, the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) evaluated and formally recognized the first agency in its Recognition Programme (RP). The RP was developed to review accrediting authorities in response to a 2010 policy by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) to require international medical graduates (IMGs) seeking to practice in the U.S. to graduate from an appropriately accredited medical school. By the end of 2022, WFME had recognized 33 accrediting bodies and received applications from another 16, which accounted for over three-quarters of the world’s medical schools. In 2023, WFME leadership changed hands, and the ECFMG will take its first steps toward implementing its Recognized Accreditation Policy.

Approach

In this article, we look back at the genesis of the RP and describe its first decade as informed by the limited existing peer-reviewed literature and the emerging activities of accrediting agencies that could have significant implications for the quality of medical education internationally.

Conclusions

The rapidly growing influence of WFME on medical education worldwide has largely occurred without significant awareness or scrutiny, and there is a need for the WFME to demonstrate greater transparency, proactively engage its stakeholders, and support research and evaluation.

Keywords:

• Accreditation
• WFME
• ECFMG
• international medical graduates

Disclosures of interest

The authors report no conflict of interest.

Other disclosures

Dr. Whitehead is the BMO Financial Group Chair in Health Professions Education Research, University Health Network.

Data

All data were from publicly available websites as referenced.

Glossary

Recognition Programme: An initiative run by the World Federation for Medical Education that reviews medical school accrediting bodies to determine if they meet pre-specified criteria intended to indicate high quality accreditation practices.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sean Tackett

Sean Tackett, MD, MPH, is Associate Professor of Medicine and International Medical Education Director for Division of General Internal Medicine, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland.

Cynthia R. Whitehead

Cynthia R. Whitehead, MScCH, MD, PhD, is professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Women’s College Hospital, and director, Wilson Centre, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Mohammed Ahmed Rashid

Mohammed Ahmed Rashid, MBChB, MSc, MD, FRCGP, FRCP, is professor of medical education and Vice Dean, University College London Medical School, London, United Kingdom.