Allen Sandra Kay, Baalawi Zahra S, Al Shoaibi Ahmed, Gomma Hesham Wagih, Rock John A
College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Academic and Student Services, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Med Educ Online. 2022 Dec;27(1):2057790. doi: 10.1080/10872981.2022.2057790.
Health care and health professions education are becoming increasingly global, yet no formal international accrediting body exists for medical education. Among the challenges in developing international standards for medical education is the variation in program models, with some regions offering six-year bachelor's degrees and others, including North America, customarily requiring a bachelor's degree prior to admission to a 4-year graduate-level degree program. This study sought to determine the applicability of the USA Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) accreditation standards internationally as the foundation for program development, quality improvement, and program evaluation in a program that follows the North American medical education model in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Using a qualitative political, economic, sociocultural, technological, legal, and environmental (PESTLE) analysis framework, we systematically assessed the applicability of each of the 93 LCME accreditation elements to the nascent doctor of medicine (MD) degree program at Khalifa University.
All 93 elements in the most current LCME accreditation standards were deemed applicable internationally in a program developed in accordance with the North American model of medical education. Of these, three elements were deemed applicable with caveats in the legal or regulatory processes required to achieve comparable compliance outside of the USA. No elements were deemed not applicable in an international setting.
Our analysis demonstrates that the LCME accreditation standards are model-specific and can be effectively applied internationally in programs that follow the North American model of medical education. Countries in which no specialized medical education accrediting body exists can apply the LCME standards and achieve international benchmarks of quality in medical education through rigorous self-assessment and continuous quality improvement.
医疗保健和卫生专业教育正日益全球化，但目前尚无正式的国际医学教育认证机构。制定医学教育国际标准面临的挑战之一是课程模式的差异，一些地区提供六年制学士学位，而其他地区，包括北美，通常要求在进入四年制研究生层次学位课程之前先获得学士学位。本研究旨在确定美国医学教育联络委员会（LCME）认证标准在国际上的适用性，以此作为在阿拉伯联合酋长国（阿联酋）遵循北美医学教育模式的一个项目中进行项目开发、质量改进和项目评估的基础。
我们使用定性的政治、经济、社会文化、技术、法律和环境（PESTLE）分析框架，系统评估了LCME的93项认证要素对哈利法大学新开办的医学博士（MD）学位项目的适用性。
最新的LCME认证标准中的所有93项要素在按照北美医学教育模式开发的项目中被认为在国际上是适用的。其中，有三项要素在美国境外实现可比合规所需的法律或监管程序中有一些限制条件下适用。没有要素被认为在国际环境中不适用。
我们的分析表明，LCME认证标准是特定模式的，并且可以在遵循北美医学教育模式的项目中有效地在国际上应用。不存在专门医学教育认证机构的国家可以应用LCME标准，并通过严格的自我评估和持续的质量改进达到医学教育的国际质量基准。
