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The WFME standards are a global expert consensus on the standards for medical schools and other providers of medical education throughout the continuum of medical education and training: Basic Medical Education (BME), Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME), and Continuing Professional Development (CPD). The standards are divided into basic areas and further divided into sub-standards, providing guidance and key questions.
In 2020, the WFME Standards programme adopts a new, principles-based approach to allow users of the standards to make their own version of the standards appropriate to the local context. In 2025, the release of the revised CPD Standards marked a significant milestone in the WFME Standards Programme. The CPD Standards were the last in the WFME Trilogy of Standards to transition from a prescriptive format to a principles-based approach. The Trilogy includes standards for BME, PGME, and CPD.
There are many sets of standards in local use which were developed from the first and second editions of the WFME standards. If those local standards remain good and efficient, there is no need for them to be revised.
Standards are not a universal core curriculum, and they do not define the detail of the content of education. Diversity of educational programmes must be fostered, to account for different educational, social, economic, and cultural conditions, different patterns of disease, and to support social responsibility. The standards provide a template for medical schools and other providers of medical education, and the agencies which accredit them to define institutional, national, and regional standards, and to act as a lever for quality improvement. Not all of the WFME standards will be relevant in every setting.
WFME recommends the use of these standards for institutions responsible for medical education:
- As a framework for curriculum development, modified or supplemented in accordance with regional, national, and institutional needs and priorities.
- To formulate individual plans for change for quality improvement.
- To establish a system of evaluation, accreditation and/or recognition to assure minimum quality standards for programmes.
- To safeguard practice in medicine and for a globally mobile medical workforce.
WFME Standards:
- Are intended to guide the development and evaluation of medical education programmes.
- Provide a framework to be customised for the local context.
- Do not offer a universal core curriculum.
- Are not prescriptive.
- May not be relevant in every setting.
WFME Standards trilogy: Areas | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Standard No. | Basic Medical Education | Postgraduate Medical Education | Continuing Professional Development |
1. | Mission and Values | Mission and Values | Purposes |
2. | Curriculum | Curriculum | Process and Content of CPD |
3. | Assessment | Assessment | Assessment |
4. | Students | Postgraduate Doctors | Individual Doctor |
5. | Academic Staff | Teachers and Clinical Supervisors | Recognition of CPD Activity |
6. | Educational Resources | Education and Training Resources | Educational Resources |
7. | Quality Assurance | Quality Improvement | Quality Improvement |
8. | Governance and Administration | Governance and Administration | Governance and Administration |
In 2011, WFME estimated that the global standards had been used by around half of medical schools worldwide. The standards are endorsed by the World Health Organization (see 2013 policy briefing on accreditation), the World Medical Association (2004 resolution) and IAMRA (see 2016 statement on accreditation).
Intended audience: health authorities, medical associations, medical schools and national and international institutions and organisations dealing with basic medical education in all countries.
- The standards are based on our current understanding of fundamental principles and best practices in designing, maintaining, and enhancing medical education programmes
- Standards are intended to guide medical education programme development and evaluation, facilitate diagnosis of strengths and weaknesses relating to the medical education programme, and to stimulate quality improvement
- Each institution or regulator should review the relevant standards and develop a version of them that is appropriate to the local context. It would be helpful if those local, contextual standards are mapped on to the original WFME standards
- Not all standards will have application in every setting
It is possible for a medical school to receive a satisfactory overall evaluation and maintain accreditation (where appropriate) without necessarily meeting every standard and sub-standard.
The WFME programme on global standards in medical education has three main aims:
- to stimulate authorities, organisations and institutions having responsibility for medical education to formulate their own plans for change and for quality improvement in accordance with international best practice;
- to establish a system of national and/or international evaluation, accreditation and recognition of medical educational institutions and programmes to assure minimum quality standards for the programmes; and
- to safeguard practice in medicine and the medical workforce in the context of increasing internationalisation.
The original trilogy of WFME global standards (2003) was developed by three international taskforces involving more than 60 medical education experts from across the six WHO-WFME regions. Updates were defined by a small working group and a broad international panel of experts (2012, 2015, 2020).
WFME publishes the standards in English. We do not have the resource to provide official translations of the standards documents, however we are keen to make the standards accessible. We publish translations on the WFME website, with credit given to the translator, where we are confident that the nuances of the language and the intended meaning has been conveyed.
For permission to translate the WFME standards, please email standards@wfme.org
For general questions, clarifications or to provide feedback on the standards documents please email standards@wfme.org
WFME can offer advice to a medical school or agency in interpreting the WFME standards in the local, regional or national context.
To access the full WFME Glossary, follow this link.
