Social Accountability and Graduate Medical Education

Abstract

Because graduate medical education (GME) is largely publicly funded, it should be judged on how well it addresses the public’s health needs. However, the current system distributes GME resources inequitably by specialty and geography, and neglects to focus on training physicians adequately in the care of populations while reducing health disparities. Instead, GME continues to concentrate training in hospital-based academic centers and in subspecialties, which often exacerbates disparities in health outcomes and access to care. GME can be more socially accountable by shifting incentive structures to support primary care, creating more equitable distribution of residency slots and funding, and promoting training programs that focus on social and structural determinants of health.

Storylines of family medicine XI: professional identity formation—nurturing one’s own story

“…In addition, however, they should be held to account by society for what they do. Although there are plenty of arguments for social accountability at multiple levels of medicine, [21][22][23] individual efforts are not enough-moving our health system to a framework of social accountability is a collective task. It is central to the most important question that we ask ourselves almost daily, 'How can we best serve our communities' and patients' needs?…”

Exploring the Dimensions and Components of Accountable Education for the Rehabilitation Sciences Curriculum in Tehran Universities of Medical Sciences: A Qualitative Content Analysis

“…The World Health Organization (WHO) defines social accountability for medical schools as directing educational, research, and service activities to address community health concerns and needs [4]. Accountability is a criterion for evaluating and measuring the accountability of educational institutions to the needs of society [5], what can be deduced from the works and scientific texts related to the medical education system and the health system, attention to the needs and expectations of society is a social responsibility for universities and educational groups [6]. Educational institutions must actively participate in developing the health system and be effective in the community by following the basic principles (quality, equality, relevance, and effectiveness) [7].…”