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Call for papers - Accreditation and program evaluation models in medical education

Guest Editors

Roghayeh Gandomkar, MD, PhD, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran
Marta van Zanten, PhD, FAIMER Research, USA

Submission Status: Open   |   Submission Deadline: December 9 2024


BMC Medical Education is calling for submissions to its Collection on Accreditation and program evaluation models in medical education. In the dynamic field of medical education, program accreditation and evaluation shape the quality, relevance, and efficiency of medical education programs globally.  As our understanding of diverse contexts continues to impact medical education curricula, it’s crucial that the way we accredit and evaluate these programs evolve in tandem. We invite submissions that explore such advances in accreditation and program evaluation models.

Meet the Guest Editors

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Roghayeh Gandomkar, MD, PhD, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran

Dr Roghayeh Gandomkar, MD, PhD is the Chair of the Department of Medical Education at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Her research focuses on accreditation, program evaluation, and performance assessment. A particular focus is on the analysis of accreditation data and applying program evaluation models in Health Profession Education. She has been involved in establishing several accreditation agencies and has been a member of the Accreditation Committee for Undergraduate Medical Education program in Iran. She is an Editorial Board Member at BMC Medical Education.

Marta van Zanten, PhD, FAIMER Research, USA

Dr Marta van Zanten is Senior Director at FAIMER, where she is involved in various initiatives supporting FAIMER’s mission, including research on quality assurance processes of international medical schools, the impact of accreditation on student outcomes, and the role of international medical graduates (IMGs) in the U.S. workforce. Additionally, Dr van Zanten assists in the advancement of organizational knowledge directories on systems of medical education, accreditation, certification, and regulation.

Dr van Zanten’s publication topics include clinical skills assessments, international medical schools, and quality assurance and accreditation issues. She holds a BA from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. She also holds an MEd and a PhD in public health from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

About the Collection

BMC Medical Education is calling for submissions to its Collection on Accreditation and program evaluation models in medical education.

In the dynamic field of medical education, program accreditation and evaluation shape the quality, relevance, and efficiency of medical education programs globally.  As our understanding of diverse contexts continues to impact medical education curricula, it’s crucial that the way we accredit and evaluate these programs evolve in tandem. We invite submissions that explore advances in accreditation and program evaluation models. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Implementation in health profession education contexts: How can various program evaluation models--particularly models that embrace context such as CIPP, realist evaluation, program theory, etc., or those focused on stakeholders' involvement--be implemented in health profession education contexts?
  • Adaptation to changing healthcare landscape: How can accreditation and program evaluation models adapt to the rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, considering technological advancements, changes in delivery models, and emerging health priorities?
  • Global standardization vs. local context: What challenges and opportunities arise in balancing the need for global standardization in medical education with the recognition of diverse cultural, social, and economic contexts?
  • Integration of technology: How can innovative tools and methodologies, such as virtual simulations, e-learning platforms, and artificial intelligence, be effectively incorporated and what are the implications for accreditation and program evaluation?
  • Outcome-based education: How can accreditation transition from traditional input-based assessments to outcome-oriented evaluations that demonstrate the effectiveness of medical education programs?
  • Interprofessional education and collaboration: How can accreditation and program evaluation models effectively promote interprofessional education to enhance collaboration and patient-centered care?
  • Continuous quality improvement: How can institutions establish processes for ongoing quality assessment, feedback, and improvement to ensure dynamic and responsive education aligned with best practices?
  • Resource allocation and equity: How can accreditation standards contribute to promoting diversity and inclusion while ensuring equitable distribution of educational resources?
  • Faculty development and training: How can accreditation and program evaluation models incorporate mechanisms for faculty training, mentorship, and support to enhance teaching effectiveness and the overall well-being of educators?
  • Patient-centered education: How can accreditation and program evaluation models evaluate the engagement of patients in the educational process and the cultivation of empathetic and patient-focused healthcare professionals?
  • Assessment methods and standardization: How can accreditation strike a balance between standardization and flexibility to tailor assessments to individual contexts?


Image credit: New Africa / stock.adobe.com

  1. Pediatrics is one of the most important medical specialties in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) KSA) since it serves a large population. Therefore, the pediatrics residency program is considered one of the most im...

    Authors: Abdulrahman Alhaqbani, Sulaiman Alayed, Khaled Almutairi, Rayan Alotaibi, Fahad Aljuraibah, Khaled Alsager and Hamad Alkhalaf
    Citation: BMC Medical Education 2024 24:956
    Content type: Research Published on:

  2. Accreditation and regulation are meant for quality assurance in higher education. However, there is no guarantee that accreditation ensures quality improvement. The accreditation for Caribbean medical schools ...

    Authors: Sateesh B. Arja, Bobbie Ann Adair White, Praveen Kottathveetil and Anne Thompson
    Citation: BMC Medical Education 2024 24:781
    Content type: Research Published on:

Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of original Research Articles. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection; please select "Accreditation and program evaluation models in medical education" from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.