Is our medical school socially accountable? The case of Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University

Background: Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University (FOM/SCU) was established as community oriented school with innovative educational strategies. Social accountability represents the commitment of the medical school towards the community it serves. Aims: To assess FOM/SCU compliance to social accountability using the "Conceptualization, Production, Usability'' (CPU) model. Methods: FOM/SCU's practice was reviewed against CPU model parameters. CPU consists of three domains, 11 sections and 31 parameters. Data were collected through unstructured interviews with the main stakeholders and documents review since 2005 to 2013. Results: FOM/SCU shows general compliance to the three domains of the CPU. Very good compliance was shown to the "P'' domain of the model through FOM/SCU's innovative educational system, students and faculty members. More work is needed on the "C'' and "U'' domains. Conclusion: FOM/SCU complies with many parameters of the CPU model; however, more work should be accomplished to comply with some items in the C and U domains so that FOM/SCU can be recognized as a proactive socially accountable school.