FAIMER 2004 Annual Report: International Medical Education Directory

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Tracking Medical Education

Exhibits

Exhibit F: IMED Advisory Board
Exhibit G: Distribution of Medical Schools in IMED, by Region

IMED supports the credentialing of international physicians by ECFMG, which is responsible for certifying the readiness of these physicians to enter U.S. programs of graduate medical education and training. ECFMG medical education credential policy requires that, to be eligible for ECFMG Certification, a physician's medical school and year of graduation be listed in IMED.

To be eligible for the Medical Council of Canada (MCC) Evaluating Examination and Qualifying Examination, the MCC requires an applicant's international medical school to be listed in either IMED or the World Directory of Medical Schools, published by the World Health Organization. The MCC Evaluating Examination is a prerequisite for international medical graduates to take the MCC Qualifying Examination, which must be passed for a physician to be registered in the Canadian Medical Register.

FAIMER is not an accrediting agency. The medical schools listed in IMED are those that are recognized by the appropriate government agencies in the countries where the schools are located. The medical schools listed for a given country, and the information available for each school listed, are provided by these agencies and the medical schools. Listing of a medical school in IMED does not denote recognition, accreditation, or endorsement by FAIMER.

International Medical Education Directory

The International Medical Education Directory (IMED) is a free, web-based resource on the world's medical schools. The information available in IMED for each listed medical school includes the school's current name and university affiliation, previous names (where applicable), and contact information. IMED also offers information about the medical school curriculum, including but not limited to, duration of curriculum, title of the medical degree awarded, the language of instruction, the year instruction began, and the years for which the school has been recognized by the appropriate government agency.

IMED lists more than 1,900 medical schools throughout the world. Of this total, more than 1,800 are currently open. During 2004, 90 medical schools representing 34 countries were added to IMED. Exhibit G shows the distribution of listed medical schools by region.

Medical schools are added to IMED when FAIMER receives notification from the ministry of health, ministry of education, or other responsible authority, such as the medical licensing agency, of the country where the schools are located. This notification must confirm that the specified medical school is recognized by the government of the country for award of the Doctor of Medicine (or equivalent) degree, the date on which recognition was granted, and that graduates of the medical school are eligible for medical licensure in the country.

The information in IMED was gathered initially from the extensive current and historical data in ECFMG's medical education credentials reference library. Since the introduction of IMED in 2002, the information available in IMED has been expanded and updated continuously through contact with medical school and government officials worldwide. FAIMER's ongoing surveys of the world's ministries of health and education are an important tool in verifying and expanding the information available in IMED.

The development of IMED is guided by the IMED Advisory Board, an international panel of experts representing the fields of medical education and licensure. The members of the IMED Advisory Board are shown in Exhibit F.

FAIMER is pleased to offer this valuable resource and encourages users to send questions or comments concerning IMED to:

International Medical Education Directory (IMED)
c/o FAIMER
3624 Market Street
Philadelphia PA 19104
USA
E-mail: imed@faimer.org
Fax: 215.386.9767

IMED Subscription Service

The IMED Subscription Service provides broad, low-cost access to the information in IMED for organizations involved in credentialing and research. For an annual fee, subscribers can download the entire IMED database. Access to the database is unlimited during the subscription period. More information on comprehensive access to the IMED database through this service is available on the FAIMER website.

Click to enlarge	Left: Medical schools in each country are listed alphabetically, by the name of the medical school.
Click to enlarge	Left: Users may search for schools in a variety of ways, including by geographic region, country, name of medical school or affiliated university, and the city in which the school is located. Detailed search instructions are provided.
Click to enlarge	Left: IMED provides basic information, such as medical school name, university affiliation, and contact information. It also provides curricular information, such as duration of curriculum, degree awarded, language of instruction, and the graduation years for which the school has received government recognition.

[last update: June 29, 2006]