The initiative was first launched in 2009 after the Ministry of Health in Singapore contacted the ACGME asking for help in switching the country’s GME system from the British to American model.

After evaluating and accrediting graduate medical education programs in the U.S. for more than three decades, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has  now expanded its reach with an international program aimed at raising GME standards in other countries around the world.

ACGME-International recently completed the first phase of a partnership with the Ministry of Health in Singapore to furbish up the GME accreditation system in Singapore. Meanwhile, the ACGME-I has signed contracts in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and is negotiating with officials in Oman.

ACGME CEO Thomas J. Nasca, MD said:

“The idea is not just to take the U.S. model and imprint it on each country, but to work with the country and develop a model that is appropriate for that country and their patient population. When we bring these systems in, we immediately raise the level of the graduates, and we raise the standards of the educational program.”

Ministry of Health spokeswoman Poon Jing Ting said:

“The goals of the process are to evaluate, improve and publicly recognize programs and sponsoring institutions in GME that are in substantial compliance with standards of educational quality established by ACGME-I. Accreditation was developed to benefit the public, protect the interests of residents, and improve the quality of teaching, learning, research and professional practice.”

“The goal of this program is to establish GME training in other countries which can help them retain much-needed doctors,” added Dr. Nasca.