Creating Educational Opportunities for Medical Educators

FAIMER's Fellowship Programs — A New Educational Pathway

FAIMER's fellowship programs for medical educators include The Institute, established by FAIMER in 2001, and the International Fellowship in Medical Education (IFME) program, formerly administered by ECFMG. In 2004, FAIMER continued to align these programs more closely with each other, to create a new educational pathway that will allow international medical educators to become outstanding local resources for improving medical education.

The Institute will be an entry point for faculty development. After the two-year Institute program, selected Fellows will pursue advanced degrees in medical education at institutions worldwide through the IFME program. Medical educators who complete this educational pathway will be skilled in implementing curricular improvements at their home institutions that can lead to better health care. They will also be uniquely qualified to take a leadership role in developing regional Institutes, centers of ongoing activity that support curricular innovations aimed at addressing local heath care needs.

The coming year will be a transitional one for the IFME program, as it moves from its current individual mentorship model to a program that supports the acquisition of advanced academic degrees by FAIMER Institute alumni. For the 2005-2006 academic year, the first year operating under IFME's new model, ten FAIMER Institute alumni have applied for IFME fellowship support to obtain master's degrees in medical education; for this program year, support will be distributed between IFME applicants seeking degrees and those pursuing the traditional program model. The goal for the 2006-2007 academic year is to accept only those individuals who apply to the IFME program to pursue advanced degrees.