Aga Khan University's internal medicine residency programme is the first in Africa to be accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education International, ACGME-I.
This means that the residency programme can be benchmarked and measured against the best global residency programmes.
ACGME-I is a global accreditation body that verifies medical education institutions, as well as their postgraduate programmes for residents and fellows, meet the highest academic standards. By improving the quality of teaching, learning, research and professional practice, ACGME-I seeks to improve healthcare that ultimately benefits the public.
Prof Reena Shah, Chair of the department of internal medicine said, “This is a proud moment for our department and the AKU family. With this accreditation, residents graduating from our internal medicine residency programme will now be recognized internationally because our training meets the benchmarks that any other training programme offers globally including the United States. This is an ongoing process so the hard work starts now where we have to ensure that we meet all the necessary requirements to maintain the accreditation."
This achievement follows the Medical College, East Africa's institutional accreditation in July 2020. ACGME-I recognised AKU as the only institution in the region for having the infrastructure, policies, procedures and support systems to provide top quality graduate medical education to trainee doctors.
“AKU strives for excellence in its medical education programmes and we are very proud of this achievement which is a testament to the international quality standards of our institutional set up and the programmes we offer. We attribute this success to the dedication and efforts of our colleagues in the department of internal medicine who have worked tirelessly to ensure that all our procedures and documentation is in order for this process. They exemplify our commitment to quality and excellence in delivery of medical education, and our determination to deliver at the highest level globally," said Prof Lukoye Atwoli, Dean, Medical College, East Africa.
Recently, the Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi (AKUH, N) was accredited for the fourth time by the Joint Commission International (JCI), the recognized global leader in health quality standards. AKUH, N was first accredited in July 2013, becoming the first hospital in East Africa to receive the coveted accreditation. The hospital was re-accredited in 2016 and 2019.
Over 60 per cent of graduates from the Medical College, East Africa are currently working in public and private sector hospitals in the countries they serve. AKU's nine residency programmes and four fellowship programmes in Nairobi are accredited by the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council.
Other international institutions who have been accredited by ACGME-I include Abu Dhabi-based Sheikh Khalifa Medical Center (SKMC), American University of Beirut (AUB), Hamad Medical Corporation in Doha Qatar and Singapore Health Services amongst others.
