Global research agenda for medical education regulation: findings from a nominal group consensus exercise

Although medical education regulation is widely practised and given substantial resource and priority by policymakers and leaders, there is little empirical evidence to support it or guide regulation practices at an international level. In recent years, international and cross-border accreditation systems have gained prominence, often linked to migratory opportunities for graduating physicians. Given the high-stakes nature of regulation in medical education, there is a pressing need for research in this area, including the development of a framework to guide how to prioritise the different areas of scholarly inquiry that need to be addressed to best inform and elevate accreditation practices.

This article reports a nominal group technique consensus exercise on global medical education regulation conducted in August 2023 in London, UK. Participants were invited based on their research and leadership roles in medical education regulation around the world. Working in three groups using the nominal group technique, participants examined issues associated with medical education regulation globally that required research and evaluation.

18 participants from 11 countries took part. There was remarkable consistency across the three groups. Each group identified over 15 areas of inquiry summarised in seven overall research domains: Purpose, Quality and Sustainability, Economics, Governance, Colonialism, Process and Outcomes.

Regulation is ubiquitous in medical education, and a panel of international scholars and leaders identified a pressing set of global issues that require exploration to inform future practices. This research agenda can help policymakers and researchers understand and embrace the complexity that underlies this topic and use it to prioritise research efforts in the years ahead.