TRENDS IN ENSURING THE QUALITY OF MEDICAL EDUCATION: CREATION OF STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATION MECHANISMS

Abstract

Background. The issues of creating international medical education standards and accreditation of educational institutions were investigated. It emphasizes the view that despite the proposed benefits of global harmonization of health education programs, including doctor mobility and improved quality of medical care through the introduction of cutting-edge information technologies (IT), issues and unforeseen consequences require

more careful examination. This is particularly true for the implementation of global educational programs and their connection with the local context of governance and culture. The study aimed to examine the current state and dynamics of medical education quality, identify national priorities for continuous medical education, which is influenced by modern global trends, considering the global standards of the World Federation of Medical Education (WFME) and European standards for higher education quality assurance, as well as medical education accreditation.

Materials and methods. The research results were systematized using scientific periodical databases such as: Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, etc. Classical methods of information search were applied at various stages of the research.

Results. The rapid development of information technologies and globalization processes have significantly impacted the development of medical education both in Ukraine and worldwide, leading to a paradigm shift in the value orientations of doctors' continuous professional development. Standardization of medical education is crucial for ensuring academic mobility, applicants for higher education and professional mobility of doctors and other health care specialists, improving the quality of medical education, and contributing to the transparency of external evaluation of medical education institutions' activities. Global WFME standards for improving medical education quality and European standards and recommendations for quality assurance in higher education have been identified as accreditation tools in medical education. Ukraine has defined national priorities for medical education development for the next decade: continuity of the content of undergraduate and postgraduate education in institutions of higher education, continuous professional development of doctors, competency-oriented educational programs at the levels of higher education, introduction of residency, introduction of European standards and recommendations for quality assurance, certification according to international standards of medical education. Glocalization of medical accreditation standards should be conducted in such a way as to align accreditation practices with global standards, while ensuring adequate consideration of local values and social needs.

Conclusions. Technologies for applying accreditation mechanisms and medical education standards, although increasing, are not universal. Although most countries have some sort of accreditation system for medical education, many do not use standards specific to medical education. A modular principle of implementing standards and accreditation mechanisms is proposed, including a basic global level of standards, local methodologies, and a module of new information technologies. The prospects for further research lie in determining the conditions for introducing internal standards and forming a quality culture in medical universities.