Moderated by Giulia Bonaminio

In 2020, WFME published an updated third edition of the Global Standards for Quality Improvement in Basic Medical Education. These are a global consensus of medical education experts on minimum requirements for best practices (core standards) and standards for quality improvement. The 2020 edition of the standards adopts a new "principles-based" approach to allow users of the standards to make their own version of the core standards, appropriate to the local context. There are many sets of standards in local use that were developed from the first and second editions of the WFME standards for basic medical education. If those local standards are still good and effective, there is no need to revise them.

The standards are not a universal core curriculum and do not define the detail of educational content. Diversity of educational programs should be encouraged, to take into account different educational, social, economic, and cultural conditions, different disease patterns, and to support social responsibility. The standards provide a template for medical schools and other medical education providers, as well as accreditation agencies, to define institutional, national and regional standards and act as a platform for quality improvement. Not all WFME standards will be relevant in all settings.
WFME recommends the use of these standards to institutions responsible for medical education:

- As a framework for curriculum development, modified or supplemented according to regional, national and institutional needs and priorities.
- To formulate individual change plans for quality improvement.
- To establish a system of evaluation, accreditation and/or recognition that guarantees minimum quality standards for programs.
- To safeguard the practice of medicine and a globally mobile medical workforce.

The standards are organized into eight universal themes: mission and values; curriculum; assessment; students; faculty; educational resources; quality assurance; and governance and administration.