The 2020 Trainings for Assessors Held Successfully

On September 13th,2020, the Trainings for Assessors of Medical Education Accreditation ended in success. Experts from all over the country met at a distance to study the new trends and requirements in the development of medical education accreditation by listening to the presentations and participating in four workshops. The connotation of accreditation standard was fully discussed and the practical experience was shared during the conference.

A new era for the accreditation; A long journey for medical education

The morning of August, the 2020 Trainings for assessors of medical education accreditation started. The meeting was attended by more than 170 leaders from the Department of Higher Education of the Ministry of Education, the Department of Higher Education Evaluation Center of the Ministry of Education, and experts from all over the country. The opening session focused on the developing trend, the interpretation of medical education accreditation, the review and summary of WFME recognition, the self-construction of experts , the new concept of medical education accreditation and the requirements of expert responsibility and etc. Furthermore, it provides a platform for experts to focus on the connotation of accreditation, grasp the requirements, share their experience and reach a consensus.

Group Photo of experts

At the beginning of the conference, Wang Qiming, deputy director of the Department of Higher Education of the Ministry of Education, delivered a speech. First of all, on behalf of the Department of Higher Education of the Ministry of Education, he expressed his gratitude to experts for their contributions to the reform and development of medical education and the promotion of accreditation. He stated that the landmark achievements of accreditation played an important role in the development of medical education. Taking the new challenges and requirements of the pandemic into account, he stressed that medical education accreditation need to continue promoting the reform and development of medical education based on the future trends, and further improve the accreditation mechanism to fully ensure the improvement of the quality of medical education.

And then, professor Wang Weimin, chairman of WCAME, focused on the connotation of Standards for Basic Medical Education in China (2016 edition) (hereinafter referred to as the Standards) and explained how to use evidence-based methods in accreditation.

Professor Li Mengfeng, deputy director of WCAME, reviewed the whole process of WFME accreditation in Shanghai JiaoTong University, sharing the experience of the accreditation team, and inspiring the participants on the construction of the accreditation under the future internationalization of medical education pattern.

Finally, Xie Ana, Secretary-General of WCAME, shared her idea on the global background, the development and the new trend of medical education accreditation in China, and interpretedthe 2019 Guideline for the Accreditation of Basic Medical Education in detailed.

Group photo of keynote speakers

Focus on evidence-based paradigm, fight for reaching a consensus

From 3 September to 13 September, a series of training workshops based on accreditation standards, case studies and evidence-based approaches were featured. Each workshop was attended by more than 140 experts from colleges and universities across the country.

According to the 10 fields of the accreditation standard, 4 workshops were conducted, and each consisted of a group-study and a summary session based on a simulation case. During the group-study session, experts were divided into 6-9 different groups. Under the guidance of the discussion guests and according to the 2016 Standards, they exchanged and discussed the simulation cases of the comprehensive universities and the medical schools, respectively. During the summary session, the participants summarized and reported the discussion results of their own groups, discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the simulation case, exchanged the possible problems and the contents and methods that needed more evidence-based approaches.

During the workshops, experts at all ages took active in exchanging ideas and solving problems. Through the communication, the experts had a deeper understanding of the systematisms of the ten fields of the accreditation standards, a more vivid perception of the connotation and the observation points of the standards and, and a clearer idea of the requirements for them. Combined with the simulation case, the workshops achieved a great success and won unanimous praise from the experts.

Workshop Ⅰ “Mission and Outcomes; Governance and Administration; Continuous Development” on September 3rd

Workshop II “Education Programme ” on September 6th

Workshop III “Scientific Research ;Assessment of Students; Students” on September 10th

Workshop IV “Programme Evaluation ; Educational Resources ” on September 13th

In order to improve the training effect, WCAME made innovative exploration to the training program. In terms of the format of the conference, flexible online meetings were used to overcome space and geographical constraints; as for the content of the training, the combination of general assembly presentations and workshops of small groups provided experts with more opportunities to communicate; and in terms of the training materials, simulation cases were used as the main thread. This training conference not only provides timely guidance for experts to carry out follow-up accreditation, but also launched an effective platform for exchanging ideas about medical education. The conference received the positive response and feedback from the experts, as well as valuable opinions on the standards, the construction of the expert teams, the accreditation process and the mechanism. With a long way to go, WCAME will continue cooperating with experts to create a bright future for medical education!

Secretariat of the Working Committee for the accreditation of Clinical Medicine of the Ministry of Education

September 14,2020