Background

Accreditation of medical education has been one of the key quality improvement drivers. Since WFME has recognized many accreditation agencies in this region, it is timely to rethink the performances and desirable directions. Thus, the networking and collaboration among the accreditation agencies should be able to serve as an open space to share and capture valuable experiences.

Initiated by Thailand’s Institute for Medical Education Accreditation (IMEAc), the Asian Accreditation Agencies Forum was the first of its kind, organized in Chiang Mai, Thailand on January 11, 2023. It is well attended by President of the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) and key senior leaders from WFME-recognized agencies, namely Korean Institute of Medical Education and Evaluation (KIMEE), Japan Accreditation Council for Medical Education (JACME), Indonesian Accreditation Agency for Higher Education in Health (IAAHEH), Taiwan Medical Accreditation Council (TMAC), Institute for Medical Education Accreditation (IMEAc). Vietnam (University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City) sent its representatives to attend the event as well. Several executives from Thailand’s professional associations were also present as observers. Representatives from Working Committee for the Accreditation of Medical Education (WCAME), China, could not participate due to travel obligation. 

In the forum, Professor Ricardo-Leon Bórquez, President of WFME said in his keynote address: “Stronger relationships within and across regions based on respective contexts and cultures are essential.” He stressed further that quality does not have one definition and that each region tends to understand its own contexts and cultures better. Thus, this Forum could be influential to the region and possibly serve as a model for other regions to follow.

Moreover, the participants learned from Professor Bórquez about his perspective on regional and global collaboration. They were hopeful that this initiative could represent the efforts of Asian region in accreditation and to act as another channel to collectively strengthen quality of the process and medical education as a whole.

At the end of the meeting, the participants agreed that this kind of activity should be continued. A network of accreditation agencies should be formed. IMEAc, Thailand, offered to create an official website of the Asian Accreditation Agencies Network. This would be the open space for the agencies to share their information and updates. Moreover, thanks were given to TMAC that accepted to host the next Asian Accreditation Agencies Forum in the year 2024.