2004 Highlights

FAIMER Adopts Strategic Plan

In July 2004, FAIMER's Board of Directors adopted a strategic plan to guide activities in each of the Foundation's three areas of activity. For each area, the plan sets forth a broad vision statement accompanied by specific, near-term objectives and activities. It also identifies potential longer-term activities for each area, with preliminary considerations of their feasibility and resources required. Finally, the plan specifies milestones by which progress in each area will be evaluated.

Moving forward, the plan will provide critical guidance for the continued development of the Foundation's activities, as well as the development of complementary resources and programs. To facilitate the plan's implementation, two Board committees, one to oversee educational activities and a second to oversee research and tracking activities, were formed in 2004. A number of staffing changes, described below, bring additional expertise to support the objectives outlined in the plan. FAIMER's staff members now belong to one or more of three formal organizational units established by the strategic plan - the Faculty Development Center, Research Center, and Data Resources Center.

Directory of Organizations that Recognize Medical Schools Available

At their December 2004 meeting, FAIMER's Directors approved the implementation of a directory of the organizations that recognize, authorize, or certify the world's medical schools. The initial version of the directory was published on the FAIMER website in January 2005. The organizations listed are those that are often responsible for the establishment of national standards for medical education and the recognition of medical schools in their countries. Development of the directory will address the lack of high quality data on evaluation and accreditation that is essential to improving medical education and, ultimately, world health. See Directory of Organizations that Recognize Medical Schools.

Development of Postgraduate Medical Education Directory Begins

During 2004, FAIMER staff began development of a new resource on postgraduate medical education worldwide. The Postgraduate Medical Education Directory (PMED), FAIMER's third in a series of planned resources on medical education worldwide, will provide country-level data on formal medical education and clinical training, beyond the basic medical school curriculum. PMED will be a valuable resource for those investigating, comparing, and evaluating the world's systems of postgraduate medical education and training. See Postgraduate Medical Education Directory.

FAIMER Co-sponsors Focus Session at AAMC Annual Meeting

FAIMER and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) co-sponsored a focus session at the 115th Annual Meeting of the AAMC, held November 5-10, 2004 in Boston, Massachusetts. The session, entitled Partnerships in International Medical Education, focused on global medical, scientific, economic, and political trends and how these trends affect academic medicine. Moderated by M. Brownell Anderson, M.Ed., AAMC's Senior Associate Vice President for Medical Education, the session featured FAIMER President John J. Norcini, Ph.D.; David Stern, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan; and Emery Wilson, M.D., Director of the Office of Health Research and Development at the University of Kentucky School of Medicine.

Staff Appointments Bring Additional Expertise, Oversight to FAIMER's Activities

In 2004, FAIMER made a number of appointments to key staff positions. These appointments bring additional expertise to all areas of the Foundation's activities and, in conjunction with FAIMER's strategic plan, serve to guide its developing activities.

John R. Boulet, Ph.D.

As FAIMER's Director of Research and Tracking, Dr. Boulet implements the Foundation's research agenda and guides its efforts to develop meaningful resources on medical education worldwide. Dr. Boulet also serves as ECFMG's Assistant Vice President for Research and Evaluation, a position he has held since 2001, and as Chair of the ECFMG Internal Research and Data Review Committee.

Dr. Boulet joined ECFMG in 1996 as a Psychometrician for the ECFMG Clinical Skills Assessment program. Later, he served as ECFMG's Director of Test Development and Research for the Clinical Skills Assessment program. As Assistant Vice President for Research and Evaluation, ECFMG, he conducts and supervises research projects related to the employment and migration of international medical graduates, and serves as a consultant in the administration, scoring, and validation of clinical skills examinations.

Dr. Boulet holds a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Western Ontario. He is also a graduate of the University of Ottawa with an M.A. in Education and a Ph.D. in Education - Measurement and Evaluation.

William P. Burdick, M.D., M.S.Ed.

As FAIMER's Director of Education, Dr. Burdick oversees the Foundation's efforts to create educational opportunities for international medical educators. Dr. Burdick has been a Co-Director of the FAIMER Institute since its inception in 2001. He also serves as ECFMG's Assistant Vice President of Assessment Services, a position he has held since 1999.

Dr. Burdick is Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine, where he is also an Associate Director for the Program for Integrated Learning (a problem-based curriculum) and Director of the first-year Clinical Skills course in that program. Dr. Burdick has been recognized for teaching excellence with the Lindback Award and the Trustees' Award. He is currently a member of the United States Medical Licensing Examination™ Computer Case Simulation Committee.

A graduate of Oberlin College, the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, and Cornell University Weill School of Medicine, Dr. Burdick completed training in Internal Medicine at Boston City Hospital and is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Emergency Medicine.

Deborah Diserens, M.A., M.Phil.

Ms. Diserens' role as FAIMER's Director of Development is critical to identifying partners and support for FAIMER's activities. She also serves as a consultant to the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Program for Women at Drexel University College of Medicine.

Prior to joining FAIMER, Ms. Diserens was the Director of Foundation Relations for the National Academies in Washington, D.C. In that capacity, she worked on a number of projects, including a large global health effort with the Gates Foundation targeted at sub-Saharan Africa. In the past she has worked at Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania, where she taught research methods, statistics, and epidemiology, and was involved in curriculum development, program evaluation, and research in medical education; and at Allegheny University of the Health Sciences, where she was Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations.

Ms. Diserens is a graduate of Wellesley College and has graduate degrees in Psychology, with a specialization in psychometrics, from Columbia University.

Shirley R. Williams, B.B.A.

As FAIMER's Manager, Ms. Williams provides administrative oversight of the Foundation's day-to-day operations and coordination across FAIMER's three areas of activity.

Prior to joining FAIMER, Ms. Williams held several positions at ECFMG, where she was employed for more than 20 years, including key roles in the administration of fellowship programs for medical educators. As a Staff Assistant, she administered the former Foreign Faculty Fellowship Program in the Basic Medical Sciences (FFFP) and the former International Medical Scholars Program (IMSP). In 2001, she became Manager of the International Fellowship in Medical Education (IFME) and Short-Term Exchange Fellowships (STEF) programs. In 2002, she and the IFME and STEF programs transitioned to FAIMER.

Ms. Williams holds a B.B.A. in Accounting and Management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.