J Educ Eval Health Prof.  2011;8:6.

Medical school accreditation in Australia: Issues involved in assessing major changes and new programs

• Field MJ

Abstract

The Australian Medical Council (AMC) is an independent company for quality assurance and quality improvement in medical education in Australia and New Zealand. Accreditation procedures for the 20 medical schools in these two countries are somewhat different for three different circumstances or stages of school development: existing medical schools, established courses undergoing major changes, and new schools. This paper will outline some issues involved in major changes to existing courses, and new medical school programs. Major changes have included change from a 6 year undergraduate course to a 5 year undergraduate course or 4 year graduate-entry course, introduction of a lateral graduate-entry stream, new domestic site of course delivery, offshore course delivery, joint program between two universities, and major change to curriculum. In the case of a major change assessment, accreditation of the new or revised course may be granted for a period up to two years after the full course has been implemented. In the assessment of proposals for introduction of new medical courses, six issues needing careful consideration have arisen: forward planning, academic staffing, adequate clinical experience, acceptable research program, adequacy of resources, postgraduate training program and employment.

Keyword

Accreditation; Medical school; Australia; Educational program

MeSH Terms

Accreditation
Australia
Curriculum
Education, Medical
Employment
Financing, Organized
Humans
Joints
New Zealand
Quality Improvement
Rivers
Schools, Medical

Reference

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3. Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand [Internet]. Sydney: Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand Inc;c2010. [cited 2011 May 20]. Available from: http://www.medicaldeans.org.au/statistics/snapshots.

4. Urbis Pty Ltd. What makes for success in medical education? Synthesis report. Canberra: Deptartment of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations;2008.