IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF ACCREDITATION OF HIGHER MEDICAL EDUCATION IN COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD

Accreditation is a key feature of many medical education systems, helping to ensure that programs educate and assess students according to applicable standards, provide a supportive learning environment, and produce professionals who are competent to practice in complex and evolving health care systems. More than 70 countries of the world have quality assurance and accreditation systems based on external monitoring. In 92 countries out of 186 (49 %) countries listed in the World Directory of medical institutions have access to accredited undergraduate programs that apply medical ethics and medical research methods. The majority of small countries in Europe, South America and the Pacific region have access only to general student accreditation, and many countries in Africa have no accreditation. At the international level, accreditation requirements have led to significant changes in the quality of medical education in Australia, the USA and New Zealand over the past decade.