What Will It Mean for Me? Perceptions of the ECFMG 2023 Accreditation Requirement from an Online Forum

ABSTRACT In 2010, the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) announced that as of 2023, physicians applying to train and practice in the United States will be required to graduate from a medical school that has been accredited using criteria such as those developed by the World Federation for Medical Education. This study analyzed posts on the Student Doctor Network (SDN) online forum that refer to this accreditation requirement to investigate how it has been perceived and understood by current and prospective medical students. A keyword search of relevant terms was used to identify posts discussing the accreditation requirement on the SDN online forum, which were subjected to thematic analysis. There were a total of 83 posts from 49 distinct user accounts between May 2012 and January 2020. Seven themes were identified in total; four whose overall purpose was to seek or offer advice and three whose overall purpose was commentary. Themes relating to advice included applications and admissions, future career planning, personal circumstances, and country-specific issues. Themes relating to commentary included the accreditation requirement policy itself, the potential implications of the requirement, and the educational quality of non-U.S. medical schools. Only half of web links on these posts were to the ECFMG website for official information about the requirement. Although a variety of different perspectives about the ECFMG accreditation requirement were expressed on an online forum for student doctors, the overall number of posts was low, which suggests that the requirement has not been a frequent topic of discussion on this platform. The insights gained from posts suggest personal opinions about the requirement and consequences for individual student application and career choices were the main areas of interest. Signposting to official information channels may help to raise awareness about the requirement and tackle areas of uncertainty and confusion about its implementation.

Impact of accreditation on Caribbean medical schools’ processes

Background: Caribbean graduates contribute significantly to the US healthcare workforce. The accreditation requirements of local governments vary from one Caribbean island to another island. The Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) requirement that all future applicants be graduates from accredited medical schools drove Caribbean medical schools to seek accreditation. Accreditation has been found to significantly impact the educational processes of Canadian medical schools. Our study aims at investigating Caribbean medical school leaders’ perceptions of the impact of accreditation on their school’s processes. Methods: This qualitative study and data analysis were done using a framework analysis. Academic leaders and faculty members from three different types of Caribbean medical schools (accredited, denied-accreditation schools, never applied for accreditation) were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Results: A total of 12 participants from six different Caribbean medical schools participated in the interview process. Themes of processes influenced by accreditation at Caribbean medical schools were similar to those found in the Canadian context and align with best practices of Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI). Conclusions: Caribbean medical schools are changing their educational processes as a result of accreditation requirements. Some processes are not maintained in a continuous manner, raising questions about the development of a true CQI culture.