Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) has been awarded the highest level of accreditation for the provision of continuing medical education to physicians by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) – recognised as the leading accreditation body in the US.
WCM-Q’s CME/CPD programme was initially accredited by the ACCME in 2016, becoming one of the first medical education colleges in the world outside the US to receive such accreditation, which confers the rights and responsibility to designate AMA PRA Category 1 Credits (American Medical Association Physician's Recognition Award).
Now, following an exhaustive assessment of its CME/CPD programme, WCM-Q has been granted Accreditation with Commendation by the ACCME. Such was the quality of the CPD activities offered by WCM-Q that the ACCME conferred accreditation for six years rather than the usual four-year term. The new ACCME Accreditation with Commendation extends WCM-Q’s accreditation period until November 2024.
Dr Graham McMahon, president and CEO of the ACCME, said, “ With this achievement, WCM-Q demonstrates leadership, innovation, and creativity in CME and shows that education measurably improves clinician performance. By leveraging the power of education, WCM-Q promotes team-based care, population health, community collaboration, and clinicians’ communication skills. I commend WCM-Q’s commitment to continuous improvement in its own programme and to advancing the field of CME through research and scholarship.”
WCM-Q’s CME/CPD programme also recently received renewed accreditation for a period of five years from Qatar Council for Healthcare Practitioners-Accreditation Department (QCHP-AD). This dual accreditation gives physicians practising in Qatar the opportunity to keep their knowledge and skills up-to-date while simultaneously earning credits to allow them to maintain their medical licenses, both in Qatar and in the US.
A culture of high-quality CME/CPD is regarded as an essential part of any modern healthcare system because it provides rigourous standards of best practice for physicians which are continually updated to keep pace with developments in medical science. WCM-Q develops a wide variety of learning opportunities such as workshops, seminars, certificate programmes and lectures for members of the healthcare community in Qatar, both within and beyond WCM-Q.
Dr Thurayya Arayssi, senior associate dean for medical education and continuing professional development at WCM-Q said, “Our dual accreditation is very important to us because it underlines our commitment to help to continuously enhance healthcare at both local and international level. Although our programme is relatively young, we felt confident that the quality of our offering met the new and more rigourous set of ACCME commendation standards.”
Dr Javaid Sheikh, dean of WCM-Q, said, “To earn the highest level of accreditation from the ACCME, which is widely recognised as the world’s leading medical accreditation body, is a truly special and significant achievement.”