The purpose of this study was to examine professors’ and students’ perceptions of curriculum that fosters character in medical school. ‘Character’ can be defined as a desirable personality and the ability to be a good person. A total of 264 subjects (professors=131, students=133) participated in the study. Survey questions were divided into the three parts (education needs, factors of character, and curriculum management strategy). Data were analyzed by using t-test and one-way analysis of variance. Both professors and students recognized the need for character education. Professors were more aware of the need for education than students (t=4.35, p<0.01), and clinical professors were more aware of the need for education than basic medical science professors (t=3.48, p<0.01). Premedical students were more aware of the need for character-centered education than medical students in the later stages of their education (t=3.41, p<0.01). Professors and students commonly referred to ‘consideration and communication’ as the most important factor in building character. Professors considered ‘self-regulation’ more important than the students recognized, while students perceived ‘wisdom’ as more important than the professors did. There was a difference in preference for curriculum development (creating new subjects vs. revising existing subjects) between the two groups. However, both groups agreed on the teaching and evaluation methods. In conclusion, both groups acknowledged the need for character education. However, there were differences in perception on the major factors of character and preference for curriculum development. The results of this study may assist in designing character education in medical education.

This narrative review introduces global trends in pharmacovigilance (PV) education for healthcare professionals and the status of PV education in Korea. Proactive participation of healthcare professionals, including physicians, pharmacists, and nurses in reporting suspected adverse events is the main driving force for effective operation of the spontaneous adverse event reporting system database, which in turn facilitates early safety signal detection of otherwise unknown suspected adverse events. The World Health Organization recognizes PV education curriculum as a key aspect in promoting awareness of PV and adverse event reporting among healthcare professionals, and multiple studies have demonstrated that PV educational interventions for healthcare professionals have increased overall adverse event reporting. Considering the global trends in PV education, the curriculum in Korean universities still has room for improvement in promoting PV obligation among future healthcare professionals. Further research is needed to develop PV education curriculum. We suggest a three-step project for innovating PV education in Korea to meet the global PV educational standards: a survey to gauge current PV competencies among healthcare professionals, reform of current PV academic curriculum, and evaluation and fine-tuning of the reformed curriculum.

For the past 20 years, the medical education accreditation program of Korean Institute of Medical Education and Evaluation (KIMEE) has contributed greatly to the standardization and improvement of the quality of basic medical education in Korea. Now, it contributes to establishing and promoting the future of medical education. Since its inception in 2019, Accreditation Standard of KIMEE 2019 (ASK2019) aims to achieve world-class medical education through the application of learner-centered curriculum using a continuum framework for the three phases of formal medical education: basic medical education, post-graduate medical education, and continuing professional development. ASK2019 also promotes medical education which meets community needs and employs systematic assessments throughout the education process. These are important changes that can be used to gauge the future of the medical education accreditation system. Furthermore, internationalization, interprofessional education, health systems science, and on-going, permanent self-assessment systems in every medical school are emerging as important topics for the future of medical education. It’s time for the medical education accreditation system in Korea to observe and adopt new trends in global medical education.

The accreditation process (AccP) is both an opportunity and a burden for medical schools—which one it becomes depends on how medical schools recognize and utilize the AccP. In other words, if a medical school recognizes the AccP only as a formal procedure or as a means for continuing medical education, it will be a burden for the medical school. However, if a medical school recognizes the real and positive value of the AccP, it can be both an opportunity and a tool for developing medical education. The educational value of the AccP is to improve the quality, equity, and efficiency of medical education, along with increasing the options of choice. In order for the AccP to contribute to the development of medical education, accrediting agencies and medical schools must first be recognized as part of an “educational alliance” working together towards common goals. Secondly, clear guidelines on the accreditation standards should be periodically reviewed and shared. Finally, a formative evaluation using self-evaluation as a system that can utilize the AccP as an opportunity to develop medical education must be introduced. This type of evaluation system could be developed through collaboration among medical schools, academic societies for medical education, and the accrediting authority.

Currently, accreditation within medical education is a priority on the agenda for many countries worldwide. The World Federation for Medical Education’s (WFME) launch of its first trilogy of standards in 2003 was a seminal event in promoting accreditation within basic medical education (BME) globally. Parallel to that, WFME also actively spearheaded a project to recognize the accrediting agencies within individual countries. The introduction of competency-based medical education (CBME) with the two key concepts of “entrusted professional activity” and milestones has enabled researchers to identify the relationship between patient outcomes and medical education. Recent data driven by CBME has been used for the continuous quality improvement of trainees and training programmes as well. The goal of accreditation has shifted from the single purpose of quality assurance to balancing quality assurance and quality improvement. Even though there are a plethora of types of postgraduate medical education (PGME), it may be possible to accredit resident programmes on a global scale by adopting the concept of CBME. In addition, the alignment of the accreditation for BME and PGME, which center on competency, will be achievable. This argument may extend the possibility of measuring the outcomes of the accreditation itself against patient outcomes as well. Therefore, evidence of the advantages of costly and labor-consuming accreditation processes will be available in the near future and quality improvement will be the driving force of the accreditation process.

Following the opening of eleven medical schools in Korea in the 1980s, the issues of standardization and accreditation of medical education came to the forefront in the early 1990s. To address the medical community’s concern about the quality of medical education, the Korean Council for University Education and Ministry of Education conducted a compulsory medical school evaluation in 1996 to see whether the medical schools were meeting accreditation standards or not. The evaluation was a “relative evaluation” rather than an “absolute evaluation.” The Accreditation Board for Medical Education in Korea (ABMEK), established in 1998, was a mere voluntary organization, but with the full support of the Korean medical community, it successfully completed its first cycle of evaluations on all 41 medical schools from 2000–2004. The history of medical education evaluation activities, including those of ABMEK, was not well recorded. In 2004, ABMEK changed its name to the Korean Institute of Medical Education and Evaluation (KIMEE) as a corporate body and the government paid much attention to its voluntary accreditation activities. In 2014, the Ministry of Education officially recognized the KIMEE as an Institute for Accreditation of Higher Education Evaluation. The most important lesson learned from the history of ABMEK/KIMEE is the importance of cooperation among all medical education-related organizations, including the Korean Medical Association.