Developing and Validating a National Set of Standards for Undergraduate Medical Education Using the Wfme Framework: The Experience of an Accreditation System in Iran Publisher Pubmed



Gandomkar R^{1, 2} ; Changiz T^{3, 4} ; Omid A^{3, 4} ; Alizadeh M^{5, 6} ; Khazaei M⁷ ; Heidarzadah A⁸ ; Rouzrokh P⁹ ; Amini M¹⁰ ; Honarpisheh H¹¹ ; Laripour R¹² ; Abedi F¹³ ; Sabet B¹⁴ ; Mirzazadeh A^{15, 16} Show Affiliations
Source: BMC Medical Education Published:2023

Abstract

Background: Defining standards is the first step toward quality assurance and improvement of educational programs. This study aimed at developing and validating a set of national standards for the Undergraduate Medical Education (UME) program through an accreditation system in Iran using the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) framework. Methods: The first draft of standards was prepared through consultative workshops with the participation of different UME program stakeholders. Subsequently, standards were sent to medical schools and UME directors were asked to complete a web-based survey. The content validity index at the item level (I-CVI) was computed using criteria including clarity, relevance, optimization and evaluability for each standard. Afterward, a full-day consultative workshop was held and a wide range of UME stakeholders across the country (n = 150) discussed the survey results and made corrections to standards. Results: Analysis of survey results showed that relevance criteria had the best CVI as only 15 (13%) standards demonstrated CVI < 0.78. More than two-thirds (71%) and a half (55%) of standards showed CVI < 0.78 for optimization and evaluability criteria. The final set of UME national standards was structured in 9 areas, 24 sub-areas, 82 basic and 40 quality development standards, and 84 annotations. Conclusions: We developed and validated national standards as a framework to ensure the quality of UME training with input from UME stakeholders. We used WFME standards as a benchmark while addressing local requirements. The standards and participatory approach to developing standards may guide relevant institutions. © 2023, The Author(s).