Leadership lessons from WFME’s past president
Lois Margaret Nora, MD, JD, MBA
I have been interested in leadership since the start of my career, and over the years, other leaders have been some of my most valuable teachers. Dr. David Gordon, who recently completed his term as president of the World Federation of Medical Education (WFME, Federation), is one of those teachers.
WFME has played an important leadership role in issues related to medical education since it was organized in 1972. However, its importance in global education increased dramatically in the wake of a 2010 Education Commission on Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) decision emphasizing the importance of medical school quality around the world and announcing plans to ultimately limit ECFMG certification to graduates of medical schools with accreditation from authorities recognized by the ECFMG. WFME responded by creating a system for recognition of accrediting agencies, by evaluating them against criteria for accreditation and promoting continuous quality improvement. The criteria were based on standards for accreditation agreed upon at a WHO-WFME meeting in 2005. The Federation was already known for its standards for medical education at the undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate levels, first published in 2003.
As a medical educator and voluntary assessor with WFME, I’ve seen the impact of WFME’s leadership on quality in medical education. Dr. Gordon has been a driving force behind this work.
When I learned that this important leader was retiring from the WFME presidency, I was delighted to have a chance to speak with him. Dr. Gordon generously shared thoughts on his career, his work at WFME, and the work at the Federation of which he is most proud.
Lessons from a former medical school dean
Prior to joining and ultimately taking the helm of WFME, Dr. Gordon served as dean of the medical faculty at the University of Manchester, chair of the Council of Heads of Medical Schools of the UK, and President of the Association of Medical Schools in Europe, among other roles. As he spoke with me about his progress though roles with increasing administrative responsibilities, it became clear to me that these experiences — and Dr. Gordon’s experiences as dean in particular — provided exposure to the systems and operational perspectives needed to evolve WFME’s constitution, internal processes, and role in the global medical education community. In fact, the competencies that position medical school deans to succeed were a theme throughout our conversation.
Established by the World Medical Association and the World Health Organization, the Federation works with executive council members and partners in medical education, all of which have important roles in quality higher education, research, and professional medicine. Much like a medical school dean, Dr. Gordon could only deliver on his organizational mission by working to support the success of these and other agencies, such as the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER), the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA), and the Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE).
Support for quality and standards in medical education is a central focus of WFME’s work. However, it’s difficult to overstate the complexity of such work on a global scale. It requires a framework with relevance across cultures and medical education systems — regardless of their sophistication and resources — and the skills to work effectively with diverse groups of stakeholders. As we talked, it became clear to me that Dr. Gordon drew on not just his own experience as he sought to build out this framework, but also on legislative leadership capabilities and a clear understanding of systems thinking, the same skills a medical school dean uses to achieve her mission.
Continuous quality improvement as common ground
A systems-thinking mindset may also explain how WFME has been able to not only manage partnerships with a variety of stakeholders, but also to leverage those same partnerships to deliver on a global mission. For example, WFME works with FAIMER to maintain the World Directory of Medical Schools, a listing of more than 3,750 undergraduate medical education programs. The collaboration unified two separate directories, streamlining data submissions for schools. The result is an integrated resource that meets needs around the world.
As I listened to Dr. Gordon talk about this work, I was reminded that standards and quality in medical education provide common ground for many stakeholders around the world, regardless of their role in healthcare and health professions education. Dr. Gordon’s ability to make the most of this common ground may explain much of his success in support of quality and continuous quality improvement in medical education.
Relationships and people make the difference
While it’s clear that Dr. Gordon brings the skillset and mindset needed to lead a complicated organization and mission, he continually credited the relationships he formed and the people he worked with for his success. In fact, when I asked him what he’s most proud of, he said it’s his team.
“It’s very satisfying to see people you’ve worked with, and helped, doing really well,” he said.
Having received some of my most important mentoring from WFME staff, I can see what he means. It’s hard to overstate the complexity of building an international team of staff and volunteers that work as seamlessly as WFME’s teams do across international lines. While this success is a credit to many people on WFME’s staff of skilled professionals, it also speaks to leadership.
My congratulations to Dr. David Gordon on the great work WFME has done on his watch. I am delighted to hear that he will remain in an advisory role with the Federation, which is a duty of the past president under WFME’s constitution. And congratulations as well to new WFME President Ricardo León-Bórquez and his team. I look forward to seeing what’s next for WFME, WFME’s new leadership, and Dr. Gordon himself.
