Institutional development of medical schools based on the standards of the World Federation for Medical Education

Abstract

Medical schools face scientific, technological, health, and social transformations that require institutional capacities to guide and sustain changes in medical education. Fragmented responses focused on isolated interventions involving the curriculum, faculty, or evaluation are insufficient to address the complexity of these settings. This position article aims to substantiate a strategic perspective on the institutional development of medical schools and to analyze its relationship with the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) standards as references for context-sensitive processes of transformation and improvement. It argues that institutional development should be conceived as a strategic, systemic, participatory, and continuous process in which strategic management and management by objectives provide the articulating framework; academic leadership guides and mobilizes stakeholders; faculty development strengthens institutional capacities; and curriculum innovation translates educational transformation into practice. Evaluation and quality assurance operate across these components as mechanisms for feedback, organizational learning, and continuous improvement. From this perspective, the WFME standards are particularly valuable when used to analyze institutional functioning, identify gaps, and guide decision-making rather than exclusively to demonstrate compliance in external evaluation processes. The proposed integrated conception provides a framework for guiding the institutional development of medical schools in accordance with their mission, context, capacities, and societal health needs.