1.Recent Trends of Medical Education Reforms in United Kingdom:
Machiko Shibahara ; Hiroshi Nishigori ; Mariko Nakamura ; Toshiya Suzuki ; Yuko Takeda ; Yasuhiko Konishi ; Osamu Fukushima ; Nobuo Nara
Medical Education 2013;44(2):63-70
Background: Globalization urges us to discuss rationale and policy towards establishing a medical education accrediting body in Japan. Experience of General Medical Council (GMC) suggests us some useful lessons.
Method: Based on our visits and investigation into in GMC, we inquire how Quality Assurance (QA) was introduced in UK with what incentives and how QA has brought reforms in the medical schools in UK.
Result: Since 2003, GMC has changed its policy for QA from ‘inspection’ to ‘dialogue’. Dialogical QA asks a medical school to think critically of their education and consider vigorous actions for further improvements.
Discussion: Implications from the experience of GMC are: 1.QA process in GMC makes medical schools take robust steps towards changes, 2. Sharing the rational and policy for QA created the solid base for its effective implementation, 3. There are possible difficulties in establishing structure to do an enormous amount of coordinating work, which is necessary for constructing ‘dialogue with medical schools’.