Towards a continuing quality improvement culture through the WFME recognition programme

PURPOSE: The World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) established the Recognition Programme (RP) to improve the quality of medical education accreditation worldwide. This study aims to evaluate the impact of recognition from the perspective of recognised accreditation agencies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We emailed all WFME-recognised accrediting agencies with a survey containing five open-ended questions seeking their perspectives on recognition impact on agencies, medical education and health outcomes. Data was collected from July to August 2024. Open coding of results aggregated across questions followed by thematic analysis, generated themes organised under the three evaluated impact areas. RESULTS: 35 of 45 agencies responded. All experienced benefits of WFME recognition such as improved accreditation quality or enhanced national and international credibility. Challenges included tensions between the RP and the local context, and resource requirements. Early signs of improvement in the quality of medical education driven by recognition were observed. CONCLUSION: This first study of the WFME RP indicates significant benefits of recognition to the agencies by improving accreditation quality and credibility as well as the establishment of a continuing quality improvement (CQI) culture within agencies and accredited medical schools.