News

Postgraduate Medical Education Project Launched (MAR 5, 2010)
Fellows Contribute to 47^th Brazilian Congress on Medical Education (COBEM) (MAR 5, 2010)
Academic Medicine Celebrates Flexner Report Centenary (MAR 5, 2010)
FAIMER Fellows Lead Faculty Development Workshop at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (MAR 5, 2010)
2010 CMCL-FAIMER Regional Institute Awarded CME Credit Hours by Punjab Medical Council (MAR 5, 2010)
On-line Services Unavailable March 12-14 (FEB 24, 2010)
2010 Brazil-FAIMER Regional Institute (MAR 5, 2010)
Journal of the International Association of Medical Science Educators Call for Papers (FEB 19, 2010)
National Conference on Health Professionals’ Education Held in Pune, India (JAN 25, 2010)
UpToDate International Grant Subscription Opportunity (JAN 25, 2010)
2010 CMCL-FAIMER Regional Institute (JAN 25, 2010)
The Open University-FAIMER-WFME Distance Learning Modules in Medical Education Available in Early 2010—Reserve Now (JAN 14, 2010)
M.S. Ramaiah Medical College Chosen as Hub for New Virtual Classroom Network (DEC 21, 2009)
Inaugural Issue of African Journal of Health Professions Education Published (DEC 21, 2009)
International Medical Education Day 2009 (DEC 21, 2009)
2009 FAIMER Institute (DEC 21, 2009)
5^th Annual Asian Medical Education Association Conference Held in Indonesia (DEC 21, 2009)
Suez Canal University Celebrates Its First Graduating Class in Diploma of Health Professions Education Distance Learning Program (NOV 23, 2009)
Ara Tekian Appointed Associate Dean for International Affairs (NOV 23, 2009)
CMCL-FAIMER Regional Institute Faculty Conducts Workshop in Support of Medical Council of India Program (NOV 23, 2009)
2009 Association for Medical Education in Europe Conference (OCT 30, 2009)
Medical Council of India Launches National Faculty Development Program (NOV 23, 2009)
Directors and Faculty of FAIMER Regional Institutes (DAFFRI) 2009 Meeting Held in Málaga, Spain (SEP 30, 2009)
Academic Policy Workshop for Faculty of Nursing Held at Kabul Medical University, Afghanistan (SEP 30, 2009)
Workshop on Performance Assessment Held at Shifa College of Medicine (SEP 30, 2009)
Bulletin of the World Health Organization Special Issue on Health Workforce Retention in Remote and Rural Areas: Call for Papers (SEP 15, 2009)
Suez Canal University Expands Health Professions Education in Iraq and Libya (AUG 28, 2009)
CMCL-FAIMER Regional Institute Faculty Conducts Workshop in Bhopal, India (AUG 28, 2009)
Medical Education Research Workshop Held in Dhule (AUG 28, 2009)
John Norcini Speaks at Accreditation Workshop in Taiwan (AUG 28, 2009)
FAIMER Welcomes New Board Chair N. Emmanuel G. Cassimatis, M.D. (AUG 7, 2009)
Top Hospitals Recognized in São Paulo, Brazil (AUG 7, 2009)
47th Brazilian Congress on Medical Education (AUG 7, 2009)
James A. Hallock Invited to Deliver Miriam Friedman Memorial Lecture (AUG 3, 2009)

Postgraduate Medical Education Project Launched

(posted March 5, 2010)

FAIMER’s newest data resource, the Postgraduate Medical Education (PME) Project, is now available on the FAIMER website. Developed in partnership with the European Medical Association (EMA), the PME Project is a web-based directory describing postgraduate medical education programs worldwide. It provides information, at the country level, on formal medical education and clinical training beyond the basic medical school curriculum, including the duration of studies, trainee selection processes, specialty curricula and licensing authorities, areas of specialization, and regulations regarding specialty education and licensure/certification. The PME Project is intended to be a resource for those who want to learn about postgraduate medical education internationally. It will be especially valuable to those who wish to evaluate, compare, and contrast postgraduate training programs among countries. To learn more about FAIMER’s data resources, please visit our Data Resources page.

Fellows Contribute to 47^th Brazilian Congress on Medical Education (COBEM)

(posted March 5, 2010)

Seventy-five Brazil-FAIMER Regional Institute (Brazil-FRI) and FAIMER Institute Fellows plus 13 faculty members took part in the 47^th Brazilian Congress on Medical Education (COBEM), held October 17-20, 2009, in Curitiba, Brazil. The conference, whose theme was “The Brazilian Health System (SUS) as a School,” drew more than 2,700 participants.

Involved in nearly every aspect of the conference, FAIMER Fellows assisted in the initial planning phases, sat on the scientific and financial committees, and reviewed 1,640 abstracts. Eliana Amaral (PHIL 2003), Co-Director of Brazil-FRI, reported that Fellows and faculty gave 35 oral presentations, presented 88 posters, conducted 24 scientific sessions, including courses, workshops, and forums, and staffed a FAIMER information booth during the four-day conference.

Patricia Tempski, a 2008 Brazil-FRI Fellow, served as the president of COBEM, which is organized by the Brazilian Association of Medical Education (ABEM). In fact, five of the eight regional boards organized under ABEM have a Fellow currently serving as president or vice-president.

COBEM 2010 will be held October 31-November 3, 2010, in Goiânia, and the Brazil-FRI community is already heavily involved in the planning and organization. With the addition of the 2010 class, Brazil-FRI Fellows are 101 strong, assuring that they will continue to play an important role in COBEM and in the future of health professions education in Brazil.

Academic Medicine Celebrates Flexner Report Centenary

(posted March 5, 2010)

The year 2010 marks the 100^th anniversary of the publication of the Flexner Report (Medical Education in the United States and Canada: A Report to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching), Abraham Flexner’s seminal critical assessment of standards and practices in medical education. Flexner’s report led to widespread reform and laid much of the groundwork for health professions education today. To both celebrate the centenary of the Flexner Report and examine its influence on contemporary theory and practice, Academic Medicine has devoted its February 2010 issue to the report’s legacy—the successes it has engendered, its relevance today, and the challenges yet to be overcome. In a broader sense, the issue seeks to look back at health professions education’s past in an effort to see its future. As Dr. Richard B. Gunderman explains in his Foreword to the issue, an “overarching theme in this collection is the creative tension between continuity and change. To be faithful to the spirit of Flexner’s work, we must not only re-examine the questions he presented but also pose new ones that he could not have foreseen. These articles invite us to ponder both types of questions.”

Included in the special issue are two articles authored by FAIMER staff and Fellows (to view the abstract for each article, click on its title):

“Relevance of the Flexner Report to Contemporary Medical Education in South Asia”
Zubair Amin, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore
William P. Burdick, FAIMER Associate Vice President for Education and Co-Director of the FAIMER Institute
Avinash Supe (PHIL 2002), Director of the GSMC-FAIMER Regional Institute
Tejinder Singh (PHIL 2003), Director of the CMCL-FAIMER Regional Institute

“Flexner’s Global Influence: Medical Education Accreditation in Countries that Train Physicians Who Pursue Residency in the United States”
Marta van Zanten, FAIMER Research Associate
John R. Boulet, FAIMER Associate Vice President for Research and Data Resources
Frank Simon, FAIMER Senior Scholar

FAIMER Fellows Lead Faculty Development Workshop at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College

(posted March 5, 2010)

The Regional Center for Faculty Development at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Datta Megge Institute of Medical Sciences (Deemed University) in Wardha, India, conducted its 2^nd Basic Course in Medical Education Technologies, a faculty development workshop held December 21-23, 2009. FAIMER Fellows Nitin Gaikwad (GSMC 2009), Alka Rawekar (CMCL 2009), Jayant Vagha (CMCL 2009), and Sunita Jayant Vagha (CMCL 2010) all led sessions, along with other members of the Datta Megge Institute faculty. Twenty-five health professions education faculty members from the state of Maharashtra participated in the workshop, which was convened by Sunita Jayant Vagha. Workshop sessions included teaching and learning processes, the systems approach, educational objectives, interpersonal skills, microteaching, group dynamics, giving feedback, adult learning, multiple choice questions, and objective structured clinical and practical examinations (OSCE and OSPE).

The 2^nd Basic Course in Medical Education Technologies continued the Regional Center’s ongoing training efforts as part of the Medical Council of India’s (MCI) nationwide faculty development program. The Regional Center was established on July 1, 2009, and the 1^st Basic Course was conducted July 1-3. In addition to the Basic Courses, the Center is also conducting a meeting of coordinators of the medical education units of its 30 affiliated colleges on March 7. The goal of the meeting will be to provide guidance and support to the colleges and to arrange to conduct basic workshops at each of the schools.

2010 CMCL-FAIMER Regional Institute Awarded CME Credit Hours by Punjab Medical Council

(posted March 5, 2010)

The Punjab Medical Council has announced that Fellows participating in Sessions 1 and 2 of the 2010 CMCL-FAIMER Regional Institute will be eligible for 20 and 14 continuing medical education (CME) hours, respectively. This is the first time that CME credit hours will be awarded to participants in the CMCL-FAIMER Regional Institute by the Punjab Medical Council, which requires that 50 CME hours be completed every five years for renewal of license to practice medicine. The decision is noteworthy because it is indicative of the fact that medical education is being considered on par with other clinical disciplines, according to CMCL-FAIMER Regional Institute Director Tejinder Singh.

On-line Services Unavailable March 12-14

(posted February 24, 2010)

Due to scheduled maintenance, FAIMER’s on-line services will be unavailable beginning at approximately 10:00 p.m. on Friday, March 12. These services are expected to be available by 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 14. All times are calculated using Eastern Time in the United States.

During this maintenance period, the following on-line services will be unavailable:

Fellowships Applications
International Medical Education Directory (IMED)
International Opportunities in Medical Education (IOME)

Thank you for your patience as we strive to provide quality, convenient on-line services.

2010 Brazil-FAIMER Regional Institute

(posted February 19, 2010; updated March 5, 2010)

The first residential session of the 2010 Brazil-FAIMER Regional Institute took place January 18-28, 2010, in Porto das Dunas, Ceará, Brazil, under the direction of Eliana Amaral and Henry Campos. The 2010 Brazil-FAIMER Fellows are:

Denise Herdy Alfonso, M.D., M.Med., Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Maria Teresa Seabra Soares de Britto Alves, M.D., M.Sc., Ph.D., Universidade Federal do Maranhão, São Luis, Brazil

João Henrique Lara Amaral, D.D.S., M.Sc., Ph.D., Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Maria Cristina Andrade, M.D., Ph.D., Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

Denise Ballester, M.D., Ph.D., Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

Palmira de Fátima Bonolo, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil

Luisa Patricia Fogarolli Carvalho, M.D., M.Sc., Universidade José do Rosário Vellano, Alfenas, Brazil

Maria Selma Neves Costa, M.S., Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, Brazil

Rosângela Minardi Mitre Cotta, M.S., Ph.D., Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Gisele Regina de Azevedo, M.S., Ph.D., R.N., M.S.N., Pontificia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, Sorocaba, Brazil

João Carlos de Miranda, M.Sc., Faculdade de Medicina de Petrópolis, Petrópolis, Brazil

Roberto Zonato Esteves, M.D., Ph.D., Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, Brazil

Oscarina da Silva Ezequiel, M.D., Ph.D., Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Brazil

Maria Lucia da S. G. Jorge, M.Sc., Ph.D., Faculdade Evangélica do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil

Adroaldo Baseggio Mallmann, M.D., M.Sc., Universidade de Passo Fundo, Passo Fundo, Brazil

Victor Hugo Melo, M.D., M.Sc., Sc.D., Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Sônia Regina Middleton, M.Sc., Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Wagner José Martins Paiva, B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D., Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Londrina, Brazil

Ana Débora Santana, M.D., M.Sc., Universidade Federal de Sergipe, Aracaju, Brazil

Ana Teresa Rodrigues de Abreu Santos, M.D., M.P.H., Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil

Neuci Cunha Santos, M.S., Ph.D., R.N., Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, Brazil

Maria Helena Seabra Soares de Britto, B.S., B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D., Universidade Federal do Maranhão, São Luis, Brazil

Ricardo Sukiennik, M.D., Ph.D., Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil

Gerlinde Agate Platais Brasil Teixeira, M.D., M.Sc., Ph.D., Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niteroi, Brazil

Neiva Francenely C. Vieira, B.S., M.Ed., Ph.D., R.N., Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil

Journal of the International Association of Medical Science Educators Call for Papers

(posted February 19, 2010)

The Journal of the International Association of Medical Science Educators (JIAMSE) is currently seeking monographs, full-length research manuscripts, and short papers dealing with the education of medical professionals and innovations in medical education. JIAMSE is a peer-reviewed, electronic publication that covers a broad array of topics in medical science education. In addition to research papers, the journal publishes information on scholarly activities, announcements, editorials, and opinion pieces. If you would like to submit a manuscript or serve as a reviewer, please contact Uldis N. Streips, Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief, at unstre01@louisville.edu.

National Conference on Health Professionals’ Education Held in Pune, India

(posted January 25, 2010)

Approximately 250 health professionals from the fields of medicine, dentistry, physiotherapy, and nursing, as well as ayurveda and other Indian systems of health care, gathered in Pune, India, December 10–13, 2009, to attend the second biennial National Conference on Health Professionals’ Education (NCHPE). The conference was organized by the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) Department of Medical Education and Technology, and was supported by FAIMER and the Office of the Health Attaché of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Regional Representative for South Asia, as well as various health professions agencies and institutions throughout India. The first national conference on medical education was held in New Delhi in 2007.

The theme of the conference was “Good Teaching Practices: Sharing Best Practices in Teaching-Learning and Assessment.” Objectives included:

providing participants with a deeper understanding of teaching-learning methods, assessment, curriculum planning, evaluation, and research;
updating participants on recent advances in educational practices;
discussing innovations in health professions education;
facilitating networking and collaboration among participants.

FAIMER Institute and Regional Institute faculty, FAIMER Fellows, and several other international faculty led poster sessions, presented research, and led workshops. Intensive workshops were conducted on assessment, research and publication, curriculum development and evaluation, communication and ethics, adult learning, the use of simulation in teaching, and distance learning. Sixty-five abstracts on innovations in health professions education were presented at interactive poster sessions.

FAIMER President and CEO John Norcini delivered a plenary address on “The future of assessment in medical education,” and conducted a practicum on “Workplace-based assessment.” Associate Vice President for Research and Data Resources Jack Boulet presented on “The challenges of using simulation in medicine,” and conducted a workshop on “Setting performance standards for simulation-based exercises.” Associate Vice President for Education Bill Burdick presented a plenary address on “Capacity building in the health professions” and presented a workshop on adult learning.

By all accounts, NCHPE 2009 was a resounding success and a testament to the growth of health professions education in India. Other FAIMER Fellows and staff who served as NCHPE 2009 faculty included: Anshu (CMCL 2007, PHIL 2009), Shubhada Aphale (CMCL 2006), Dinesh Badyal (CMCL 2007, PHIL 2009), Payal Bansal (PHIL 2007), Sanjay Bedi (CMCL 2007), Director of the PSG-FAIMER Regional Institute Thomas Chacko (PHIL 2004), Shubha Chandorkar (CMCL 2006), Chetna Desai (CMCL 2007), Venkatesh Doreswamy (PHIL 2007), FAIMER faculty member Janet Grant, Arun Jamkar (PHIL 2004), FAIMER faculty member Medha Joshi, Mrunal Ketkar (CMCL 2007), Gagandeep Kwatra (CMCL 2006), Savita Marathe (GSMC 2008), FAIMER faculty member Nima Rege, Ranjana Sahasrabude (PSG 2009), Vivek Saoji (PHIL 2003), Supten Sarbadhikari (PSG 2007), FAIMER faculty member Mary Beth Scallen, Henal Shah (GSMC 2006), Director of the CMCL-FAIMER Regional Institute Tejinder Singh (PHIL 2003), Rita Sood (PHIL 2005), Director of the GSMC-FAIMER Regional Institute Avinash Supe (PHIL 2002), Rashmi Vyas (PHIL 2003), and Anand Zacharaiah (PHIL 2001).

NCHPE 2009 participants have been added to the health professions education listserv that was started after the 2007 conference. The listserv is open to all health professions educators. If you are interested in joining, please send a blank email to meu_india-subscribe@googlegroups.com.

UpToDate International Grant Subscription Opportunity

(posted January 25, 2010)

The Global Health Delivery Project and electronic medical information provider UpToDate are offering a new grant subscription program to qualifying clinicians and organizations. A limited number of complimentary, one-year subscriptions to UpToDate, a leading evidence-based and peer-reviewed clinical information resource, will be awarded in two rounds in February and May 2010.

The internationally focused grant program extends eligibility to individuals and organizations that provide medical care or related services to poor or underserved populations outside the United States. The deadlines for application are January 25 and May 3, 2010, respectively.

For complete details on application and eligibility, please visit http://www.ghdonline.org/uptodategrant/.

2010 CMCL-FAIMER Regional Institute

(posted January 8, 2010; updated January 25, 2010)

The first residential session of the 2010 CMCL-FAIMER Regional Institute took place January 12-18 in Ludhiana, India, under the direction of Tejinder Singh. The 2010 CMCL-FAIMER Fellows are:

Sanam Anwar, M.B.B.S., M.D., D.N.B. (Social and Preventive Medicine), Oman Medical College, Muscat, Oman

Preeti Bajaj, M.B.B.S., M.D., Dayanand Medical College, Ludhiana, India

Palash Das, M.B.B.S., M.D., D.P.H., Midnapore Medical College, Midnapore, India

Shubhada Anant Gade, M.B.B.S., M.D., D.G.O., N.K.P. Salve Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Nagpur, India

Atul Goel, M.B.B.S., M.D., Christian Medical College, Ludhiana, India

Shyamala Handattu Hande, B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D., Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal, India

Mohammed Ahmed Hassanien, M.S., M.Ed., Ph.D. (Clinical Biochemistry), King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Anil Kapoor, M.B.B.S., M.D., People's College of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Bhopal, India

Anisha Kellogg, M.B.B.S., M.D., Christian Medical College, Ludhiana, India

Tamkin Khan, M.B.B.S., M.D., Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh, India

Dinesh Kumar, M.B.B.S., M.D., Government Medical College, Jammu, India

Sarabmeet Singh Lehl, M.B.B.S., M.D., Government Medical College, Chandigarh, India

Babu Raja Maharjan, M.Sc. (Medical Biochemistry), Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal

Dipta Kanti Mukhopadhyay, M.B.B.S., M.D., Bankura Sammilani Medical College, Bankura, India

Ramesh Kumar Narula, M.B.B.S., M.S., D.Ortho., Rohilkhand Medical College and Hospital, Bareilly, India

Rana Arun Gopal Krishan Pal, M.D., Genesis Institute of Dental Sciences and Research, Ferozepur, India

Mugdha Potnis-Lele, Ph.D., Maharashtra University of Health Sciences Regional Centre, Pune, India

Punita Salwan, M.S., Sri Guru Ram Das Institute of Medical Science and Research, Amristar, India

Sunita Jayant Vagha, M.B.B.S., M.D., Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Wardha, India

Phagalvarthi Vasudevan Vijayaraghavan, M.B.B.S., D.Ortho., D.N.B.Ortho., M.Ch. (Orthopedics), Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute, Chennai, India

The Open University-FAIMER-WFME Distance Learning Modules in Medical Education Available in Early 2010—Reserve Now

(posted December 9, 2009; updated January 14, 2010)

FAIMER, in collaboration with the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) and The Open University Centre for Education in Medicine (OUCEM) in the United Kingdom, has produced a series of distance learning modules in medical education. The first four will become available in 2010:

Module 1: Standards for Medical Education (begins February 1, 2010)
Module 2: Organizing a Self-Review (begins April 19, 2010)
Module 3: Gathering, Analyzing and Presenting Evidence for Self-Review (begins July 5, 2010)
Module 4: Self-Review in Low-Resource Circumstances (begins October 4, 2010)

Each course takes approximately one hour per week for 10 weeks. The modules can be downloaded or used on-line. Participants will be provided with course materials and supporting documentation, as well as access to an on-line discussion forum. A learning advisor will be assigned to each participant to stimulate and discuss progress. Participants will be expected to complete two one-hour assignments (within the 10-hour allocation) for which they will receive marked feedback.

At the end of each module, participants will receive a certificate that can be used as evidence of continuing professional development (CPD). In time students will be eligible to use this certificate as credit for a practice-based CPD certificate course at The Open University.

The cost of each module is US$ 85. You can purchase the modules by visiting the distance learning page of this website. If you would like further information, please e-mail OUCEM at oucem@open.ac.uk, or call +44 (0)1908 653776. Applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis until the start date of each of the modules.

M.S. Ramaiah Medical College Chosen as Hub for New Virtual Classroom Network

(posted December 21, 2009)

In support of the Medical Council of India’s (MCI) nationwide faculty development initiative, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS), Karnataka has announced plans to build a satellite-based virtual classroom network that eventually will include 78 of the university’s affiliated medical and dental institutions across the state of Karnataka. M.S. Ramaiah Medical College (MSRMC) has been selected as the site for the main broadcasting studio, and each of the member institutions will be equipped with receiving stations.

As the relay hub for the network, the MSRMC studio will feature a digitally enabled lecture platform where workshops and presentations can be broadcast live, with real-time, two-way interaction, or recorded. The platform, which is being built by the high-tech education company Everonn, supports audio, video, and other presentation tools such as PowerPoint.

This new virtual system will advance faculty development throughout the RGUHS network by optimizing the university’s resources. Trained medical educators from each of the satellite medical education cells will be able to deliver high-quality lectures and workshops in various specialties to the virtual classrooms.

MSRMC was chosen as the broadcasting hub for its wealth of trained and committed educators, including eight FAIMER Fellows, all of whom will be involved with the studio programming when it goes live in January 2010. Venkatesh Doreswamy (PHIL 2007) has considerable experience developing virtual classroom content, and he has served on several committees and as a coordinator on this project beginning with conceptualization and now through implementation.

The virtual classroom network will help overcome staff shortages, reduce the overall program costs, lessen travel time, and ultimately train the greatest number of faculty members. Virtual classrooms at nearly 20 institutions will be operational when the network launches in January with the balance expected to come online by the end of March.

Inaugural Issue of African Journal of Health Professions Education Published

(posted December 21, 2009)

The inaugural issue of the African Journal of Health Professions Education (AJHPE) opens with an editorial that asks and answers a question; “Does Africa need another journal?” Co-Director of the Southern Africa-FAIMER Regional Institute Vanessa Burch (PHIL 2001), M.B.Ch.B., M.Med., Ph.D., authored the piece as the journal’s Editor. Dr. Burch explains that AJHPE is the only journal focusing specifically on health professions education and related topics on the continent of Africa. That health professions education is vital to solving the health care problems in Africa makes this journal more important than ever.

The bi-annual, peer-reviewed publication carries research articles, letters, editorials, practical education pieces, and opinion pieces for health professionals. The journal’s editorial board is committed to supporting the global exchange of knowledge and provides free, public access to the full journal content online.

The first issue features contributions from three more FAIMER Fellows: an article co-authored by Enoch Kwizera (PHIL 2007), another co-authored by Chinmay Shah (GSMC 2008), and a letter from Ben Van Heerden (PHIL 2006).

To access the African Journal of Health Professions Education, please visit www.ajhpe.org.za.

International Medical Education Day 2009

(posted December 21, 2009)

Each year at the FAIMER Institute in Philadelphia, a day is devoted to exploring a key theme in international medical education (IME). This year, IME Day focused specifically on the interaction between academic institutions and governments in “Human Capacity Building in the Health Professions.” On October 22, approximately 80 participants from 15 countries took part in discussion and high-engagement group activities centered on the academic and governmental relationships in four countries: Brazil, India, Pakistan, and South Africa. Each of the countries was represented by health care experts from both government and health professions education. They included:

Brazil:	Henry Campos, M.D., M.Sc., Ph.D., Professor of Internal Medicine and Vice Rector, Universidad Federal do Ceará, and Co-Director of the Brazil-FAIMER Regional Institute. Dr. Campos represented both the government and health professions education points of view.
India:	Abraham Thomas, M.S., M.A.M.S., M.Ch., Professor, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Microsurgery, and Director, Christian Medical College, Ludhiana Vedprakash Mishra, M.D., Vice Chancellor, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences University, Nagpur, and Vice Chair, Academic Cell, Medical Council of India
Pakistan:	Jamsheer Talati, M.B.B.S., Professor of Surgery and former Associate Dean for Education, The Aga Khan University Ahmed Nadeem Akbar, Registrar, Pakistan Medical and Dental Council
South Africa:	Beth Engelbrecht, M.D., Deputy Director General, Western Cape Provincial Department of Health Wynand van der Merwe, M.B.Ch.B., M.Med., M.D., Dean, Faculty of Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University

FAIMER’s Associate Vice President for Education and Co-Director of the FAIMER Institute, William Burdick, M.D., M.S.Ed., encouraged participants to explore pragmatic strategies for aligning government and health professions education to address health care challenges, especially those involving faculty development and capacity building. Ideas included setting up low-risk meetings between education and government officials to encourage dialogue; pooling resources and exploring opportunities for joint funding of needed programs; using FAIMER Regional Institutes as a meeting ground for stakeholders; integrating the training of different types of health care workers; training health care workers at the local level; and aligning academic research, data gathering, and data presentation with the requirements of government to obtain funding and support for needed programs. An important theme throughout the discussion was that a common vision for health care improvement, shared by government and health professions education, can drive change and bring about needed improvements.

In addition to the representatives from the four focus countries, participants in IME Day included Fellows and faculty of the 2008 and 2009 FAIMER Institutes, staff members from FAIMER and the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG), and other guests, including ECFMG President Emeritus and FAIMER Senior Scholar James A. Hallock, M.D.; Director of the Division of Graduate Medical Education of the American Medical Association, Paul H. Rockey, M.D., M.P.H.; and FAIMER Directors Philip L. Gildenberg, M.D., Ram R. Krishna, M.D., Donald O. Nutter, M.D., and Sharon Wood-Dauphinee, Ph.D.

Feedback from the day was very positive. Participants were impressed by the range of ideas that could be generated in a single day through focused, cross-cultural exchange. In a closing panel discussion, the representatives from the four countries each expressed gratitude for the opportunity to learn different approaches from the others, which they could take back to their own regions and use to improve the coordination of government and health professions education in efforts to improve health care.

2009 FAIMER Institute

(posted December 21, 2009)

Fellows of the 2009 FAIMER Institute meet in Philadelphia.
(click image to enlarge)

Sixteen international health professions educators who represent academic institutions from 11 countries around the world arrived in Philadelphia on October 3, 2009, to begin their first session as Fellows of the 2009 FAIMER Institute.

The FAIMER Institute fellowship program is designed for international health professions educators who have the potential to play key leadership roles at their schools. The program serves two main purposes: (1) provide participants with the tools and skills to serve as resources for their individual institutions, and (2) create an environment for cross-cultural exchange of educational expertise and experiences. The ultimate goal is to improve the health of local communities through local and regional improvements to health professions education programs.

On October 18, the 2009 Fellows were joined by the 2008 Fellows, returning to Philadelphia to complete their final residential session. These opportunities for interaction between classes of Fellows support the development of a community of international health professions educators dedicated to the improvement of health professions education and the health of communities.

In addition to the new Fellows, the FAIMER Institute also welcomed new faculty member James BonTempo, Learning Technology Advisor for Jhpiego, an affiliate of Johns Hopkins University that develops “effective, low-cost, hands-on solutions to strengthen the delivery of health care services for women and their families.” Mr. BonTempo’s teaching interests include tools and channels for distance learning. Returning to the Institute as faculty members were James A. Hallock, M.D., President Emeritus of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates and former Chair of the FAIMER Board of Directors, and Dale Dauphine, M.D., former Executive Director of the Medical Council of Canada and professor at McGill University.

Following are the 2009 FAIMER Institute Fellows:

Dr. Anshu, M.D., M.B.B.S., Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Wardha, India

Rukhsana Aslam, M.B.B.S., Lahore Medical and Dental College, Lahore, Pakistan

Dinesh Badyal, M.B.B.S., M.D., Christian Medical College, Ludhiana, India

Janet Bloomfield, M.D., Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile

Andrea Dávila-Cervantes, M.D., Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico

Martha Delgado, M.Sc., M.D., Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogota, Colombia

Rosiane Diniz, M.D., Ph.D., Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil

Yasser El-Wazir, M.B.Ch.B., Ph.D., Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt

Tesfaye Gebremedhin, M.D., M.P.H., Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia

Mahinda Kommalage, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., University of Ruhuna, Galle, Sri Lanka

Abdel-Karim Koumaré, M.D., M.P.H., Université de Bamako, Bamako, Mali

Francisco Lamus, M.D., M.P.H., Universidad de la Sabana, Bogotá, Colombia

Marykutty Mammen, B.Sc., Ph.D., Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa

Ramalingam Sankaran, M.D., PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Coimbatore, India

Tegbar Yigzaw Sendekie, M.D., M.P.H., Gondar College of Medical Sciences, Gondar, Ethiopia

Muhammad Tariq, M.B.B.S., Aga Khan Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan

5^th Annual Asian Medical Education Association Conference Held in Indonesia

(posted December 21, 2009)

The 5^th Annual Asian Medical Education Association (AMEA) Conference was held October 4-7, 2009, in Bandung, Indonesia. Hosted by the Faculty of Medicine at Universitas Padjadjaran (FMUP), the conference drew more than 300 medical educators from across Asia and was themed, “Education for Future Physician: Mosaic in Asia.”

Discussions focused on clinical education, with topics ranging from assessment and faculty development to ethics and community-related issues. The conference featured a variety of session formats, including workshops, lectures, and poster presentations. Several FAIMER faculty members and Fellows presented.

FAIMER President and CEO John Norcini, Ph.D., spoke on “Problems and challenges in clinical education” and “Specialty certification of the American Board of Internal Medicine.” Dr. Norcini also conducted a pre-conference workshop with FAIMER Fellow Sari Dewi (PHIL 2008) on “360-degree feedback.” Dr. Dewi served on the conference’s scientific organizing committee and also gave a poster presentation on “Optimizing feedback using mini-CEX during final semester program in faculty of medicine Universitas Padjadjaran.”

Christina Tan (PHIL 2005) of Malaysia spoke on “The assessor in assessment” as part of a symposium. Coralie Dimacali (PHIL 2008) from the Philippines presented on “Clinical education at community settings” in another symposium. Surapaneni Krishna Mohan (CMCL 2009) from India presented a paper on “Concept mapping as a tool in the teaching of clinical biochemistry of undergraduate medical curriculum.”

FAIMER Institute faculty member Ara Tekian, Ph.D., M.H.P.E., conducted a pre-conference workshop on the “Use of simulation technology in clinical education” and, as part of a symposium, spoke on the “Use of simulation technology in the training and assessment of skills in medical education.”

Participants shared experiences that represented the diversity of Asia and praised the conference for providing the opportunity to acquire new knowledge and build collaborations.

Suez Canal University Celebrates Its First Graduating Class in Diploma of Health Professions Education Distance Learning Program

(posted November 23, 2009)

On November 1, 2009, the Faculty of Medicine at Suez Canal University in Egypt celebrated the graduation of 34 health professionals as the first class in its Diploma of Health Professions Education (DHPE) distance learning program. The graduates are mid- to senior-level faculty from 11 different health professions education institutions in Egypt, and senior trainers from Egyptian Ministry of Health training centers. News of the graduation was broadcast on Egyptian national television, satellite channels, talk shows, and the popular show Good Morning Egypt.

Higher education officials in Egypt consider the DHPE program to be a key component in a new era of health professions education reform in the country, and recognize that faculty is the cornerstone of such change. Thirty-two new fellows have registered so far for the program’s second class.

Dr. Wagdy Talaat (PHIL 2007), Director of the DHPE program and Founding Chair of the Medical Education Department at Suez Canal University, planned the Diploma during his FAIMER fellowship in 2007 and launched the program, exclusively for Egyptians, in October 2008. He and his colleagues envision training five percent of all health professions educators in Egypt in five years through this national program.

For more information on the Suez Canal University DHPE program, please visit http://www.dhpescu.org.

Ara Tekian Appointed Associate Dean for International Affairs

(posted November 23, 2009)

FAIMER Institute faculty member Ara Tekian, Ph.D., M.H.P.E., has been appointed Associate Dean, International Affairs for the College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago. In this role, Dr. Tekian will lead all activities for the International Affairs Office at the College of Medicine and serve as the university spokesperson for the College of Medicine in the international community. His responsibilities include expanding opportunities for health professions students to study abroad, building international collaborations, and tracking international projects conducted by faculty. Concurrently, Dr. Tekian will continue in his responsibilities as Associate Professor of Medical Education and Director of International Affairs in the Department of Medical Education, which he joined in 1992.

CMCL-FAIMER Regional Institute Faculty Conducts Workshop in Support of Medical Council of India Program

(posted November 23, 2009)

Faculty from the CMCL-FAIMER Regional Institute (CMCL-FRI) conducted a four-day faculty development workshop during the first week of September at Christian Medical College, Ludhiana, India.

CMCL-FRI Director Tejinder Singh (PHIL 2003), CMCL-FRI Secretary Dinesh Badyal (CMCL 2007, PHIL 2009), Jugesh Chhatwal (PHIL 2007), Sheena Singh (CMCL 2006), Harpreet Kapoor (CMCL 2006, PHIL 2008), and Gagandeep Kwatra (CMCL 2006) led the workshop, which showcased interactive educational methodologies.

The first day of this event aimed specifically to develop the skills of Medical Education Unit (MEU) coordinators. Participants were taught how to effectively plan and deliver their own educational workshops. The session also emphasized organizational and planning tools, such as Gantt charts and backwards planning to illustrate project schedules, and faculty guides, syllabi, and other learning resource materials. A variety of program evaluation tools was also highlighted.

The first of its kind to target MEUs in India, this workshop generated a good deal of enthusiasm and positive feedback from the 32 participants, who came from various medical schools across the north of India. Some participants expressed excitement that the skills they were learning could be applied in everyday classroom teaching as well as in workshop planning. A three-day training session in basic educational methods followed the workshop and demonstrated many of the techniques in actual practice.

CMCL-FRI devised this workshop in support of MCI’s nationwide faculty development program to advance health professions education at Indian medical colleges. As part of this national program, MCI has designated eight schools, including two that are home to FAIMER Regional Institutes, as resource centers for other schools. CMCL-FRI will focus on the educational development needs of 31 regional schools from the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. For further information on MCI’s nationwide faculty development program, click here.

The planning and logistics of this CMCL-FRI event were sent to MCI so it could be replicated by other regional centers.

2009 Association for Medical Education in Europe Conference

(posted October 30, 2009)

Alwyn Louw (SAFRI 2008) is awarded the first-place Medical Teacher Poster Prize at AMEE 2009.
(click image to enlarge)

Co-Director of the Brazil-FAIMER Regional Institute Eliana Amaral (PHIL 2003) speaks about FAIMER Regional Institutes at AMEE 2009.
(click image to enlarge)

Approximately 2,200 health professionals from more than 80 countries attended the 2009 Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE) conference, held August 29 – September 2 in Málaga, Spain. The conference was organized in collaboration with the Sociedad Española de Educación Médica (SEDEM). The program consisted of a variety of session formats, including workshops, specialized courses, short communications, and posters, including various symposia and workshops conducted in Spanish. FAIMER staff, faculty, and Fellows served as session leaders, workshop organizers, course faculty, presenters, and discussants throughout the conference (see below for a complete listing of staff, faculty, and Fellow contributions).

Alwyn Louw (SAFRI 2008) of the Centre for Health Sciences Education, Stellenbosch University in Tygerberg, South Africa, was awarded the first-place Medical Teacher Poster Prize for his poster entitled “Refinement of the interdisciplinary foundation phase in an undergraduate health sciences curriculum based on initial perspectives of students and lectures.” Dr. Louw’s poster was developed in collaboration with Juanita Bezuidenhout (PHIL 2005), Ben van Heerden (PHIL 2006), and M. van Heusden, all from Stellenbosch University. To view a copy of the poster, please click here.

Dr. James Hallock, President Emeritus of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) and FAIMER Senior Scholar, delivered the SEDEM Miriam Friedman Memorial Lecture. In his talk, entitled “Evolution of Clinical Skills Assessment: Miriam would be proud!” Dr. Hallock reflected on the evolution of clinical skills assessment and Dr. Friedman’s contributions to the field. On the broader subject of Dr. Friedman’s commitment to improving medical education standards worldwide, he highlighted the contributions of FAIMER Fellows as something of which she would be especially proud. For his own contributions to the field of medical education, Dr. Hallock was the recipient of an AMEE Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dr. Hallock also took part in the Festschrift Symposium for Dr. Hans Karle along with Sekelani Banda (PHIL 2003) and Director of the PSG-FAIMER Regional Institute Thomas Chacko (PHIL 2004). Dr. Hans Karle is the former president of the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME), and the symposium was conducted immediately following the AMEE conference as a tribute from his colleagues in recognition of his achievements. The topic of the symposium was “Global Standards in Medical Education.” Dr. Hallock spoke on “International Recognition of Medical Education.” Drs. Banda and Chacko took part in a panel discussion on “Applying WFME Global Standards: An Overview and Case Studies.” Dr. Banda presented on the “Use of Standards in Self-Evaluation in a Resource-poor Environment.” Dr. Chacko presented on “Global Standards in Health Professions Education — Visions.”

As part of a symposium on International Collaboration, FAIMER President and CEO John Norcini, Brazil-FAIMER Regional Institute Co-Director Eliana Amaral (PHIL 2003), GSMC-FAIMER Regional Institute Director Avinash Supe (PHIL 2002), and Southern Africa-FAIMER Regional Institute Co-Director Gboyega Ogunbanjo (PHIL 2007) gave presentations on the growth and current status of FAIMER Regional Institutes. During the closing plenary session of the conference, in his Spotlight presentation entitled “Some Surprises at AMEE 2009!” Athol Kent of the University of Cape Town in South Africa commended FAIMER for its record of social responsibility in medical education.

Following is a list of activities in which FAIMER staff and/or faculty ( bold purple font ) and FAIMER Fellows ( bold blue font ) participated.

Preconference Workshop

Simulation and gaming
Ara Tekian

Plenary Lectures

Moral panic, political imperative and what the profession knows about developing its new generations
Janet Grant

SEDEM Miriam Friedman Memorial Lecture:
Evolution of Clinical Skills Assessment: Miriam would be proud!
James A. Hallock

Courses

Essential Skills in Medical Education Assessment (ESMEA) Course: A course aimed at participants new to assessment who wish to gain a general understanding and basic skills in assessment
Kathy Boursicot and Trudie Roberts (Course Directors), M. Brownell Anderson , William Burdick , Richard Fuller, Andy Hassell, Sydney Smee

Fundamentals of Assessment in Medical Education (FAME): A course directed at those with responsibility for assessing undergraduate medical students, graduate trainees, and practicing doctors
Ann King, Jack Boulet (Course Co-Directors); Dale Dauphinee , Lesley Southgate, David Swanson, Ingrid Philibert, André de Champlain, Tony LaDuca

Essential Skills in Medical Education (ESME) Course: An introductory teaching qualification for doctors
Stewart Mennin and Ruy Souza

Workshops

Tools for supporting the international community of medical educators
M. Brownell Anderson , John J. Norcini

Young medical educator workshop: The write stuff: guidelines for getting published
Stewart Mennin , Soren Huwendiek, Monica van de Ridder, Regina Petroni-Mennin

Assessing the written communication skills of medical school graduates
Thomas Rebbecchi, John Boulet

Teaching or Assessment? Adapting standardized patient cases for either use
Colette L. Scott, Ann Jobe

Symposia

International Collaboration
Session on FAIMER Regional Institutes
John Norcini , Eliana Amaral , Avinash Supe , Gboyega Ogunbanjo

What makes a curriculum model and what difference does it make?
Ara Tekian (Chair), Janet Grant , Ronald Harden, David Prideaux

Short Communications

Moodle platform supporting student assessment and program evaluation in internship
Waldir Grec, Jose Lucio Martins Machado, Valéria Menezes Peixeiro Machado , Valdes Roberto Bollela , Aníbal A. Matias Junior

Assessment: The OSCE
John Boulet (Opening Discussant)

International Medical Education
William Burdick (Opening Discussant)

Acupuncture insertion into the medical course: point of view from students and faculty
Manoela Suzane de Alencar Rodrigues, Alexandre Henriques Librantz, Paulo Marcondes Carvalho Júnior , Cristina Helena Lima Delambert, Thaciana Mie Barbieri Sakamoto

Best evidence medical education (BEME)
Dale Dauphinee (Chair)

Professional accomplishments among graduates of the FAIMER fellowship program
Stacey R. Friedman , Deborah Diserens , Summers Kalishman, Renee Quintana, Elizabeth Hatch, Page S. Morahan , William P. Burdick

A Simplified MCQs interpretation guide for faculty: a Pakistani School’s experience
Mobeen Iqbal , Sadia Akram, Sabir Tabassum, Syed Alamdar Shah

Assessment: Final Exam
Ann Jobe (Chair)

Incorporating Bioethics teaching in undergraduate medical curriculum of a Pakistani School
Bushra Khizar, Mobeen Iqbal , Tara Jaffery

Student diversity and self-directed learning in a PBL curriculum
Dianne Manning

A multidisciplinary, multimedia approach for teaching human embryology: Development and evaluation of a methodology
S.G. Moraes , L.A. Pereira

An Innovative matrix approach to multiprofessional curriculum change in preventive medicine
Regina Petroni-Mennin , Stewart Mennin , Eliana Tiemi Hayama, Mariangela Cainelli de Oliveira Prado , Francisco Antonio de Castro Lacaz, Ana Lucia Pereira, Luiz Roberto Ramos

Assessment: Workplace-based assessment
John J. Norcini (Chair)

Application of a theoretical framework to the utility of workplace based assessment tools – a qualitative study
Z. Setna, V. Jha, J. Higham, K. Boursicot, J. Bodle, S.K. Kaufmann, J.J. Norcini , T.E. Roberts

How prepared are our medical students to take on prescribing responsibilities upon graduation?
Si Mui Sim , Chirk Jenn Ng, Wan Yuen Choo, Siew Siang Chua, Siew Mei Lai, Francis Ifejika Achike

Understanding the functionality of dysfunctional groups
S.V. Singaram , D.H.J.M. Dolmans, C.P.M. van der Vleuten

Mentoring consultation skills through a structured assessment – students’ experience and the impact it had on their learning
Marietjie van Rooyen , Jannie Hugo, David Cameron

Accreditation of medical education programs in countries that supply physicians to the United States
Marta van Zanten , John R. Boulet , Frank A. Simon

Progress Test
Gerald Whelan (Chair)

Use of web based scenarios for medical acculturation
Gerald Whelan

Bring a web-based LMS to the small screen for US and India: lessons learned and next steps
Anand Zachariah , Rashmi Vyas , Susan Albright, Mary Lee

Posters

Evaluation of curricular integration between physiology and semiology: faculty point of view
Iêda Aleluia , Luiz Soares, Marta Menezes

Humanization in undergraduate medical education from the student’s perspective in the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Ano Alves, S.N.T. Moreira, G.D. Azevedo, V.M. Rocha, M.J. Vilar

Stakeholder-based needs assessment as an effective tool for prioritization and strategic planning of medical education programmes
Payal K. Bansal , Savita Marathe , Prakash M. Shere, William P. Burdick , Mrudula A. Phadke

Stress coping strategies among medical students of a Federal University from southern Brazil
Greice Suellen Batista, Antônio Mazzei Santana, Suely Grosseman , Laura Berton Eidt, Fernando César Wehrmeister, Valdes Bollela

Learning pediatric health supervision: transferring the class to the simulator and to student
Carla Benaglio, Astrid Valenzuela , Janet Bloomfield

Factors impacting on alienation and engagement in pathology registrars
J. Bezuidenhout , M. van Heusden, F. Cilliers , E. Wasserman , V. Burch

Bridging the gap in the internship
Valdes Roberto Bollela , José Lucio Martins Machado, Valéria Peixeiro Machado , Joaquim Edson Vieira

Innovative programme elements add value to FAIMER faculty development model in Southern Africa
Vanessa Burch , Ralf Graves , Juanita Bezuidenhout

Alignment of health professions education and health system needs: initial outcomes of the Brazil FAIMER Regional Institute (FAIMER-BR)
H.H. Campos , E. Amaral , A.E. Haddad, V.R. Bollela , P.M. Carvalho Jr. , M.G.F. Ribeiro, M.N.T.A. Araujo, S. Mennin , P. Morahan

Internship of the Medical School Of Federal University Of Goiás: new horizons
Vardeli Alves de Moraes , Edna Regina Silva Pereira , Nilce Maria da Silva Campos Costa, Denis Masashi Sugita, Karine Borges de Medeiros, André Moreira Lemes

Integrated assessment: a methodological proposal
Maria Viviane Lisboa de Vasconcelos , Renato Santos Rodarte, Célia Maria Silva Pedrosa

Impact of a student support initiative for medical students in their clinical years
Marietjie de Villiers, Martie van Heusden, Ben van Heerden

Comparison of the FAIMER Regional Institute programs
D. Diserens , S. Friedman , E. Amaral , V. Burch , H. Campos , T. Chacko , G. Ogunbanjo , A. Supe , T. Singh , S. Kalishman, R. Quintana, E. Hatch, R. Graves , W. Burdick

Role of different methods on a multidisciplinary primary care-based clerkship
Rosângela Curvo-Leite Domingues, Eliana Amaral , Angélica Bicudo-Zeferino

Learning endocrinology and reproduction in an integrated modular curriculum
Sameena Ghayur, Mobeen Iqbal , Shahid Rafi

Structured internship orientation program is perceived helpful by undergraduate students in smooth transition to practicing doctors
Ashish Goel, R. Venkat, A. Kumar, B.V. Adkoli, Rita Sood

Are nurses in South Africa prescribing medicines judiciously?
Enoch N. Kwizera

Use of on-line role play as a teaching learning strategy in health professionals’ education
Z. Ladhani , J. Chhatwal , D. Diserens , C.P.L. Tan , M. Iqbal , R. Vyas , I. Shaikh

Refinement of the interdisciplinary foundation phase in an undergraduate health sciences curriculum based on initial perspectives of students and lecturers
A.J. Louw , J. Bezuidenhout , B.B. van Heerden , M. van Heusden

Health problems of population as a guide for developing problem based learning (PBL) modules
José Lúcio Martins Machado, Valéria Menezes Peixeiro Machado , Joaquim Edson Vieira

Competences in Community Health Integration Program: different appreciations
Valéria Menezes Peixeiro Machado , Alba Lúcia Dias dos Santos, Valdes Bollela , José Lúcio Martins Machado, Neile Torres

Progress testing in a traditional medical school
C.M.L. Maffei, L.E.A. Troncon

An electronic tool for hybrid case-based learning applied to undergraduate students
Marta Silva Menezes , Marília Menezes Gusmão, Maria de Lourdes Lima, Iêda Barbosa Aleluia , Ana Verônica Batista, Rosalita Gusmão, Ana Tereza Gomes, Pedro Flávio Motta, Mário Rocha

Faculty development program directed to faculty members’ needs
Edna Regina Silva Pereira , Vardeli Alves de Moraes , Heitor Rosa, Denis Masashi Sugita, Karine Borges de Medeiros, Nilce Campos Costa

Quality control of cognitive assessment for medical residents admission
C.M. Peres, R.C. Cavalli, M.L.V. Rodrigues, C.G. Carlotti Jr., M. Kfouri, M.F.A. Colares, R.C.M. Mamede, L.E.A. Troncon

From intern to generalist – Basic surgical skills training and competency
Frank Peters

Program Evaluation – a necessity: an example from Pakistan
Zubia Razaq, Zareen Zaidi , Saadat Ali Khan, Shaheen Moin

The importance of community activities in the opinion of Brazilian medical teachers
M.L.V. Rodrigues, C.E. Piccinato, A.D.C. Passos, L.E.A. Troncon , M.F.A. Colares, C.M. Peres, J.F.C. Figueiredo

Integrated Learning: An experience with renal module
Riffat Shafi, Waseem Ahmed, Nayer Mahmud, K.H.M. Quadri, Mobeen Iqbal

Stress in Pakistan: working towards student well being
Afshan Shahid, Zareen Zaidi , Mahmood Ahmed

Group dynamics and social interaction in an online learning forum
Tejinder Singh , Anshu , Monika Sharma , William Burdick

Change through Curriculum Innovation Projects – Sharing FAIMER Regional Institutes experience in India
Avinash Supe , Tejinder Singh , Thomas Chacko

Impact of an undergraduate patient-centred programme on postgraduate student’s clinical practice
C.P.L. Tan , S.A.A. Aizura

Development and validation of a questionnaire of quality of life of medical students
Patricia Tempski , Bruno Perotta, Regina A. Possi, Patricia L. Bellodi, Joaquim E. Vieira, Lilia B. Schraiber, Milton A. Martins

Student stress in standardized patient structured clinical examinations
Luiz E.A. Troncon , Fernando T.V. Amaral

Assessment – the engine that drives learning: a case study of the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine (NRMSM)
Jacqueline van Wyk

Preparing medical students through service learning to provide social justice
Nosheen Zaidi, Zareen Zaidi , Mehmood Ahmad

Uncovering secrets of success in medical students through positive deviance inquiry
Zareen Zaidi , Tara Jaffery , Shaheen Moin, Umair Pervaiz, William Burdick

Research Papers

Migration for undergraduate medical education: performance data of applicants to ECFMG
Danette W. McKinley , James A. Hallock , Amy Opalek , John R. Boulet

Psychosocial factors, motivation for learning and academic performance – a study with first year medical students
Vanessa F. Machado, Fernando P. Valerio, Mariana M. Madisson, Tamara L. Resende, Luiz E.A. Troncon , Cristina Marta Del-Ben

Medical Council of India Launches National Faculty Development Program

(posted October 30, 2009; updated November 23, 2009)

The Academic Cell of the Medical Council of India (MCI) recently initiated efforts to advance medical education units at Indian medical colleges through a formal, nationwide faculty development program. As part of this program, MCI identified ten schools to support faculty development activities in their respective regions. These schools will teach workshops on various aspects of medical education to faculty from schools in their region, focusing on faculty members from each school’s medical education unit. These faculty will in turn lead workshops in education for teachers at their own schools.

A subset of the ten schools, including two that are home to FAIMER Regional Institutes, will serve as resource centers for the other designated centers. Christian Medical College, Ludhiana, home to the CMCL-FAIMER Regional Institute, led its inaugural workshop for faculty in September 2009. The other nodal centers, including Seth G.S. Medical College, home to the GSMC-FAIMER Regional Institute in Mumbai, will begin conducting workshops shortly.

In addition to establishing nodal centers, MCI has required that all faculty in India take a basic course in medical education. Together, the requirement for basic medical education courses and the support and direction of specified education centers provide a national framework for faculty development in India. These advances have come about, in large part, as a result of the leadership and advocacy of FAIMER Fellows in India and the example set by FAIMER’s Regional Institutes.

Directors and Faculty of FAIMER Regional Institutes (DAFFRI) 2009 Meeting Held in Málaga, Spain

(posted September 30, 2009)

Fifteen Directors and faculty of FAIMER’s Regional Institutes (FRIs) and five staff members from FAIMER’s Education department gathered August 26–28, 2009, in Malaga, Spain, for the 3rd annual DAFFRI meeting. This year’s site was chosen to provide the attendees with an opportunity to participate in the Association for Medical Education in Europe’s (AMEE) 2009 international conference for medical educators, which took place immediately after the meeting. A large majority of the DAFFRI participants also contributed to AMEE 2009 with poster presentations, short communications, or as panel discussants.

The theme of the DAFFRI meeting, “FAIMER Regional Institutes: Progress, Growth, and Innovation,” was chosen to highlight the substantial developments that have occurred since the first FRI was introduced in Mumbai, India, in 2005, and to give each of the five current programs a forum for sharing creative ideas and lessons learned.

The distinctive situation, character, and accomplishments of each FRI were highlighted in initial presentations by the Directors, which led, in turn, to the identification of common successes and challenges. Day 1 featured topical discussions in small groups to address these common issues. All of the FRIs were represented in each group. Day 2 included work in teams organized by geographical area to create five-year visions for the FRI programs in Africa, India, and Latin America. Following up on all this work, the final afternoon was devoted to convening interest groups on cross-cutting ideas in areas with high potential for future collaboration and cross-fertilization among the programs, such as research, scholarship, evaluation, and faculty development.

Academic Policy Workshop for Faculty of Nursing Held at Kabul Medical University, Afghanistan

(posted September 30, 2009)

In June 2009, the Faculty of Nursing at Kabul Medical University (KMU), Kabul, Afghanistan, took on the intensive task of writing their academic polices. The project was part of a series of activities planned under an agreement between KMU and Aga Khan University (AKU), Karachi, Pakistan, to strengthen nursing education in Afghanistan. FAIMER Institute 2007 Fellow Zahra Ladhani from the Shifa College of Nursing in Islamabad, Pakistan, facilitated the process, which was comprised of two parts:

Needs assessment: This component included a review of existing documents and reports as well as a meeting with KMU’s senior management and ministries of higher education and public health to identify individuals to either draft policies or assist in the policy approval process.
Policy writing workshop: Participants included the entire team of academic staff from the Faculty of Nursing; senior management of KMU, including the Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, and the head of each department; and two faculty members from each department and from the hospital, where students train in clinical practice.

The outcome of the workshop was a policy handbook, which detailed policies in following areas:

Academic Program: duration of semesters, credit hours, teaching strategies, formative and summative assessments, attendance criteria, passing grades.
Academic Setting: governance and administration, academic environment, resources (library, computer lab, skills lab, science lab, etc.).
Academic Staff: appointment and promotion, career and salary structure, and personnel policies.
Student Body: admission criteria, entrance protocols, etc.

The policy areas selected for KMU were derived from international literature on medical education, in particular “International Standards in Basic Medical Education,” developed by the World Federation for Medical Education. Policy handbooks from AKU School of Nursing and Shifa College of Nursing in Pakistan were also used as examples.

KMU’s efforts to improve nursing education are part of major health care reform efforts taking place throughout Afghanistan. With support from international donor communities, the Afghan Ministries of Public Health and Higher Education have invested considerable resources toward reconstructing the war-torn health care system. The basic infrastructure for delivery of health care is now in place for most parts of the country, but well-qualified human resources, in particular qualified nursing staff, are still lacking. To address this issue KMU established its own Faculty of Nursing and implemented an undergraduate program in nursing in 2006 with support from the government of Japan. Since 2009, the AKU School of Nursing has also provided ongoing technical support to this program.

Workshop on Performance Assessment Held at Shifa College of Medicine

(posted September 30, 2009)

FAIMER Fellows Mobeen Iqbal (PHIL 2006), Tara Jaffery (PHIL 2005), and Zahra Ladhani (PHIL 2007) from Shifa College of Medicine in Islamabad, Pakistan, organized a four-day workshop in May 2009 on performance assessment. The workshop was conducted by Christina Tan (PHIL 2005) from the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Dr. Tan spoke on performance-based assessment methods, standard setting, assessing the assessors, and blueprinting for objective-structured clinical examinations (OSCEs). She also conducted small group, hands-on sessions on standardization of assessors, which included a video exercise with audience participation, and led a demonstration of a training session with a simulated patient. Participants observed a live, integrated OSCE that included students from Shifa.

The practicum drew participants from several medical colleges in the region. Among them was Zareen Zaidi (PHIL 2008) from Foundation University Medical College in Rawalpindi, who described feedback on the workshop as “wonderful.”

Bulletin of the World Health Organization Special Issue on Health Workforce Retention in Remote and Rural Areas: Call for Papers

(posted September 15, 2009)

The World Health Organization (WHO) is inviting authors to submit papers to a special theme issue of the Bulletin of the World Health Organization on health workforce retention in rural and remote areas. While much is known about factors that influence health worker migration, less is known about workable solutions for retention, and this special issue of the WHO Bulletin seeks to explore this topic. Papers should expand the current knowledge of the challenges involved in the retention of health workers in rural and remote areas, including the costs of implementing retention strategies and incentive schemes, and how context influences the planning, implementation, and effects of various strategies. Papers discussing sustainability are also encouraged, in particular, innovative methodological papers dealing with the monitoring and evaluation of retention strategies.

Publication is planned for the spring of 2010; the deadline for submission is October 1, 2009.

Please visit http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/87/7/09-068494/en/index.html to see the WHO Bulletin editorial call for papers.

To submit a paper, please visit http://submit.bwho.org.

Suez Canal University Expands Health Professions Education in Iraq and Libya

(posted August 28, 2009)

The Medical Education Department (MED) of Suez Canal University (SCU) in Ismailia, Egypt, has recently forged relationships with two other universities that will advance health professions education in the Middle East and Northern Africa. Under the leadership of 2007 FAIMER Institute Fellow Wagdy Talaat, M.D., Ph.D., Professor and Head of SCU-MED, agreements were signed with the Iraq branch of Lahaye International University, the Netherlands, and with Libyan International Medical University (LIMU), Benghazi, Libya, to expand those institutions’ medical education offerings.

The Tikrit, Iraq, branch of Lahaye International University, College of Applied Medical Sciences, has agreed to offer a Joint Diploma in Health Professions Education through Distance Learning with the SCU Faculty of Medicine. The diploma is an extension of SCU’s Diploma in Health Professions Education with the important condition that it be offered exclusively to Iraqi health professionals at the Iraq national level. The diploma is the third health professions education degree offered by SCU. The program is expected to launch in October 2009.

SCU has also agreed to collaborate with Libyan International Medical University (LIMU) in Benghazi, Libya, to train faculty in innovative health professions education methods and to develop a problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum. The program will be offered to LIMU’s faculties of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Nursing, and Basic Sciences. The PBL curriculum has been outlined and the initial faculty training session was conducted during the first two weeks of July 2009. LIMU is expected to launch the first PBL module in October 2009.

CMCL-FAIMER Regional Institute Faculty Conducts Workshop in Bhopal, India

(posted August 28, 2009)

Faculty from the CMCL-FAIMER Regional Institute (CMCL-FRI) conducted a two-day medical education workshop at Gandhi Medical College (GMC) in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, August 7–8, 2009. This is the fourth outreach activity undertaken by the CMCL-FAIMER Regional Institute faculty. CMCL-FRI Director Tejinder Singh (PHIL 2003), CMCL-FRI Secretary Dinesh Badyal (CMCL 2007), Jugesh Chhatwal (PHIL 2007), and Gagandeep Kwatra (CMCL 2006) led faculty development sessions employing interactive FAIMER methodologies. The first day of the workshop focused on learning principles, including a new session on taxonomy of learning. The second day was devoted to assessment sessions, including reliability, validity, and applicability of various types of assessment methods. A full setup for objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE) and objective structured practical examinations (OSPE) was created to provide a real feel for these methods to participants.

There were 35 participants from GMC and Peoples Medical College, Bhopal, including five faculty members from GMC’s Medical Education Unit (MEU). Dean of GMC Dr. Nirbhay Srivastava highlighted the qualities of a good medical teacher and emphasized how faculty development workshops can improve teaching–learning activities. Dr Neelkamal Kapoor (CMCL 2009), Coordinator of GMC-MEU, stated that this was the first time that such a workshop, with interactive methodology, was conducted at GMC. She added that it prepared them to conduct a second workshop with local facilitators only, an important objective of the CMCL program. The CMCL team also used the gathering as an opportunity to give a brief introduction on FAIMER Regional Institutes and the application process.

Feedback on the workshop was very positive, and all the participants appreciated the way they were kept involved throughout all sessions. At the closing ceremonies, Dr. V.K. Saini, Director of Medical Education, Madhya Pradesh, said that Government is making all efforts to help organize similar workshops for all medical teachers in the state. Dr. Tejinder Singh appreciated the efforts of local organizers for providing a very conducive atmosphere for the workshop.

Medical Education Research Workshop Held in Dhule

(posted August 28, 2009)

A state-level workshop on Medical Education Research: Concepts and Methodologies was held July 29–30, 2009, at SBH Government Medical College in Dhule, Maharashtra, India. The workshop was conducted with the support of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of India. The focus of the practicum was on identifying and discussing analytical and interpretational error in medical education research in an effort to improve research methodologies. Sessions were held on educational techniques, research methods, quantitative methods, qualitative and mixed methods, differential and inferential statistics, and data analysis. Group projects were conducted on teaching techniques and assessment. The workshop helped build awareness of the need for solid medical education research, and there was much interest in FAIMER fellowship programs expressed among the 25 participants.

Included among participants were 2008 PSG-FAIMER Regional Institute Fellow Amol Dongre, who facilitated a session on the application of qualitative research methods in medical education research, and 2005 GSMC-FAIMER Regional Institute Fellow Shashank Date.

John Norcini Speaks at Accreditation Workshop in Taiwan

(posted August 28, 2009)

FAIMER President and CEO John J. Norcini, Ph.D., was an invited speaker, along with members of the Liason Committee on Medical Education (LCME) Secretariat, at a workshop on accreditation conducted at the International Conference on Medical Education and Accreditation, July 27–28, 2009, in Taiwan. The invitation was extended by Chi-Wan Lai, M.D., Executive Secretary, Medical Education Committee, Ministry of Education in Taiwan, and CEO, Taiwan Medical Accreditation Council (TMAC). TMAC was created in July 1999 to improve the quality of medical education in Taiwan. The workshop was organized to share information about how medical education accreditation systems function in Taiwan, the United States, and other countries, and to help TMAC with future planning. Dr. Norcini spoke on accreditation from the global perspective, as well as on how the medical education systems in different countries handle repatriated foreign medical graduates.

FAIMER Welcomes New Board Chair N. Emmanuel G. Cassimatis, M.D.

(posted August 7, 2009)

On July 1, 2009, N. Emmanuel G. Cassimatis, M.D., became President and Chief Executive Officer of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG). In this role, Dr. Cassimatis also serves as Chair of FAIMER’s Board of Directors.

Before joining ECFMG and FAIMER, Dr. Cassimatis had been with the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) in Bethesda, Maryland since 1995, serving most recently as Vice President for Affiliations and International Affairs. He was also Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs and Professor of Psychiatry at the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine of USU. Dr. Cassimatis has had a long and distinguished career in medicine with the U.S. Army. Prior to joining USU in 1995, Dr. Cassimatis held a number of positions with the U.S. Army’s Office of the Surgeon General and with U.S. Army hospitals in Germany and the United States, including Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

In recent years, Dr. Cassimatis served as Chair of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and the American Medical Association’s Council on Medical Education. For more than a decade, he represented the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States in the AMA’s House of Delegates.

Dr. Cassimatis earned his medical degree from Harvard Medical School and is certified in Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and has been the recipient of many other honors, including the Nancy C. A. Roeske Certificate of Recognition for Excellence in Medical Student Education from the American Psychiatric Association (2004), The Defense Superior Service Medal from the Department of Defense (2001), and the Year 2000 “Young at Heart” Award from the AMA Young Physicians’ Section, “in recognition of invaluable support and guidance to the Section and Young Physicians.”

Speaking on behalf of FAIMER, President and Chief Executive Officer John J. Norcini, Ph.D., said: “We are delighted by the appointment of Dr. Cassimatis. His long years of involvement with medical education and his international experience complement the needs of the Foundation as we continue to grow and develop.”

Top Hospitals Recognized in São Paulo, Brazil

(posted August 7, 2009)

On March 3, 2009, the State of São Paulo Health Secretariat, Brazil, recognized, for the first time, the top ten public general hospitals and top five maternity hospitals, according to the opinion of Unified Health System (SUS) users. A total of 60,200 patients, who had been cared for at 500 public or affiliated philanthropic hospitals, were asked to complete questionnaires, sent November–December 2007 and April–June 2008. The chosen hospitals received top scores from more than 100 respondents. The initiative, called "SUS-evaluation," was established to monitor quality of care and satisfaction, recognize services providing a high level of attention to clients, and increase efficient health management in the public system. Patients were asked about their level of satisfaction with health professionals, accommodations, waiting time, and overall care. For maternity hospitals, there were questions on humanization of care during delivery.

The maternity hospital voted best was Hospital da Mulher–CAISM (Centro de Atenção Integral à Saúde da Mulher), State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, São Paulo. The Obstetrics Division Director is 2003 FAIMER Institute Fellow and Co-Director of the Brazil-FAIMER Regional Institute (Brazil-FRI), Eliana Amaral.

Among the ten best general hospitals, the second highest rated was Hospital das Clínicas de Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, where Brazil-FAIMER Regional Institute Associate Director and 2006 FAIMER Institute Fellow Valdes Bollela is an Outpatient Clinic Manager. Also affiliated with the hospital are FAIMER faculty member Luis Ernesto Troncon and 2007 Brazil-FRI Fellow Juan Stuardo Yazlle Rocha, both Professors at the Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto.

The third most highly rated hospital in this category was the Hospital das Clínicas – Unidade Materno Infantil, which is affiliated with the Faculdade de Medicina de Marília, São Paulo. Brazil-FRI Associate Director and 2006 FAIMER Institute Fellow Paulo Marcondes Carvalho and 2008 Brazil-FRI Fellow Carlos Alberto Lazarini are Assistant Professors at the Faculdade de Medicina.

According to the São Paulo State Secretary of Health, Dr. Luiz Roberto Barradas Barata, "The SUS in São Paulo is very proud of these hospitals, and the ones who recognized the institutions as the best are the users themselves. This evaluation strategy was fundamental to know what has been done for hospital care and what needs to be improved. It has become an extremely important management tool."

47th Brazilian Congress on Medical Education

(posted August 7, 2009)

The 47th Brazilian Congress on Medical Education (COBEM) will be held October 17–20, 2009, in Curitiba, Paraná. Participation by FAIMER Fellows is expected to be significant. Serving as President of the Congress is 2008 Brazil-FAIMER Regional Institute Fellow Patricia Tempski, and the eight-member Scientific Committee includes four Fellows: George Dantas Azevedo (BRAZ 2007), Regina Maria Lugarinho Da Fonseca (BRAZ 2008), Paulo Marcondes Carvalho (PHIL 2006), and Edna Regina Pereira (BRAZ 2008). A special section at the event has been reserved for FAIMER, where abstracts from the projects of the more than 75 Brazil-FAIMER Regional Institute Fellows will be available, along with information about the FAIMER experience. FAIMER Fellows will also participate as abstract reviewers, invited guests, and presenters. So far, more than 1,900 registrations and 1,600 abstracts have been received for the Congress. For more information on COBEM 2009, visit http://www.cobem2009.com.br/index.php. To see the organizing team, visit http://www.cobem2009.com.br/comissoes/index.php.

James A. Hallock Invited to Deliver Miriam Friedman Memorial Lecture

(posted August 3, 2009)

James A. Hallock, M.D., President Emeritus of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG^®) and FAIMER Senior Scholar, has been invited to conduct the Sociedad Española de Educación Médica (SEDEM) Miriam Friedman Memorial Lecture at the 2009 annual conference of the Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE). The topic of Dr. Hallock’s lecture will be “Evolution of Clinical Skills Assessment: Miriam Would Be Proud!”

Miriam Friedman Ben-David was a leader in the field of medical education and, in particular, clinical skills assessment. She served as Co-Director of ECFMG’s Clinical Skills Assessment (CSA^®) program. From 1998 to 2004, the ECFMG CSA evaluated the clinical skills of international medical graduates seeking to enter postgraduate medical education in the United States. ECFMG’s experience in developing and delivering the CSA forms the basis of its role as a partner, with the National Board of Medical Examiners^® (NBME^®), in the Clinical Skills Evaluation Collaboration (CSEC), which is responsible for the delivery of the United States Medical Licensing Examination^® (USMLE^®) Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) examination to both international and U.S./Canadian medical school graduates. Dr. Hallock’s lecture will reflect on the evolution of clinical skills assessment and the impact of Dr. Friedman Ben-David’s contributions to the field.

A list of selected references that focus on the work of Dr. Friedman Ben-David and her colleagues appears below.

Ben-David MF. Life beyond OSCE. Medical Teacher. 2003 May; 25(3):239-240.

Ben-David MF, Boulet JR, Burdick WP, Ziv A, Hambleton RK, Gary NE. Issues of validity and reliability concerning who scores the post-encounter patient-progress note. Academic Medicine. 1997 Oct; 72(10 Suppl 1):S79-S81.

Ben-David MF, Klass DJ, Boulet J, De Champlain A, King AM, Pohl HS, Gary NE. The performance of foreign medical graduates on the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) standardized patient examination prototype: a collaborative study of the NBME and the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG). Medical Education. 1999 Jun; 33(6):439-446.

Ben-David MF, Snadden D, Hesketh A. Linking appraisal of PRHO professional competence of junior doctors to their education. Medical Teacher. 2004 Feb; 26(1):63-70.

Boulet JR, Ben-David MF, Burdick W, Ziv A, Gary N, Hambleton RK. An Investigation of the Sources of Measurement Error in the Post-Encounter Written Scores from Standardized Patient Examinations. Advances in Health Science Education Theory and Practice. 1998; 3(2):89-100.

Boulet JR, Ben-David MF, Ziv A, Burdick WP, Curtis M, Peitzman S, Gary NE. Using standardized patients to assess the interpersonal skills of physicians. Academic Medicine. 1998 Oct; 73(10 Suppl):S94-S96.

Burdick WP, Ben-David MF, Swisher L, Becher J, Magee D, McNamara R, Zwanger M. Reliability of performance-based clinical skill assessment of emergency medicine residents. Academic Emergency Medicine. 1996 Dec; 3(12):1119-1123.

Friedman M, Mennin SP. Rethinking critical issues in performance assessment. Academic Medicine. 1991 Jul; 66(7):390-395.

Friedman M, Prywes M. [Internship evaluation by Israeli medical graduates]. Harefuah. 1988 Jan 15;114(2):83-87. Hebrew.

Friedman M, Prywes M, Benbassat J. Variability in doctors' problem-solving as measured by open-ended written patient simulations. Medical Education. 1989 May;23(3):270-275.

Friedman M, Sutnick AI, Stillman PL, Norcini JJ, Anderson SM, Williams RG, Henning G, Reeves MJ. The use of standardized patients to evaluate the spoken-English proficiency of foreign medical graduates. Academic Medicine. 1991 Sep;66(9 Suppl):S61-S63.

Friedman M, Sutnick AI, Stillman PL, Regan MB, Norcini JJ. The relationship of spoken-English proficiencies of foreign medical school graduates to their clinical competence. Academic Medicine. 1993 Oct;68(10 Suppl):S1-S3.

Gary NE, Sabo MM, Shafron ML, Wald MK, Ben-David MF, Kelly WC. Graduates of foreign medical schools: progression to certification by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates. Academic Medicine. 1997 Jan;72(1):17-22.

Gómez Sáez JM, Pujol Farriols R, Martínez Carretero JM, Blay Pueyo C, Jaurrieta Mas E, Friedman M, Sutnick A. [The COMBELL project. Analysis of the medical clinical competence]. Medicina Cliníca. 1995 Nov 18;105(17):649-651. Spanish.

Henkin Y, Friedman M, Bouskila D, Kushnir D, Glick S. The use of patients as student evaluators. Medical Teacher. 1990;12(3-4):279-289.

Keynan A, Friedman M, Benbassat J. Reliability of global rating scales in the assessment of clinical competence of medical students. Medical Education. 1987 Nov;21(6):477-481.

Lunenfeld E, Weinreb B, Lavi Y, Amiel GE, Friedman M. Assessment of emergency medicine: a comparison of an experimental objective structured clinical examination with a practical examination. Medical Education. 1991 Jan;25(1):38-44.

Mires GJ, Ben-David MF, Preece PE, Smith B. Educational benefits of student self-marking of short-answer questions. Medical Teacher. 2001 Sep;23(5):462-466.

Phillip M, Friedman M, Benor D. Problem-based clinical confrontation modules planned and conducted by students. Israeli Journal of Medical Science. 1987 Sep-Oct;23(9-10):1035-1037.

Sachdeva AK, Loiacono LA, Amiel GE, Blair PG, Friedman M, Roslyn JJ. Variability in the clinical skills of residents entering training programs in surgery. Surgery. 1995 Aug;118(2):300-308; discussion 308-9.

Sensi S, Ben-David MF, Guagnano MT, Merlitti D, Pace-Palitti V, Danieli G, Gabrielli A, Vettore L, Benini F, Capelli MC, Bartoli E, Tenore A, Bernasconi C, Grignani G, Monga G, Del Prever EB, Cavallo-Perin P, Massè A, Pagliardi G, Curtoni S. [Assessment of clinical competence of medical school graduates in Italy with standardized patients. The opinion of the examinees]. Recenti Progressi in Medicina. 1998 Nov;89(11):575-577. Italian.

Stern DT, Ben-David MF, De Champlain A, Hodges B, Wojtczak A, Schwarz MR. Ensuring global standards for medical graduates: a pilot study of international standard-setting. Medical Teacher. 2005 May;27(3):207-213.

Stillman PL, Regan MB, Haley HL, Norcini JJ, Friedman M, Sutnick AI. The use of a patient note to evaluate clinical skills of first-year residents who are graduates of foreign medical schools. Academic Medicine. 1992 Oct;67(10 Suppl):S57-S59.

Sutnick AI, Stillman PL, Norcini JJ, Friedman M, Regan MB, Williams RG, Kachur EK, Haggerty MA, Wilson MP. ECFMG assessment of clinical competence of graduates of foreign medical schools. Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates. JAMA. 1993 Sep 1;270(9):1041-1045.

Sutnick AI, Stillman PL, Norcini JJ, Friedman M, Williams RG, Trace DA, Schwartz MA, Wang Y, Wilson MP. Pilot study of the use of the ECFMG clinical competence assessment to provide profiles of clinical competencies of graduates of foreign medical schools for residency directors. Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates. Academic Medicine. 1994 Jan;69(1):65-67.

Ziv A, Ben-David MF, Sutnick AI, Gary NE. Lessons learned from six years of international administrations of the ECFMG's SP-based clinical skills assessment. Academic Medicine. 1998 Jan;73(1):84-91.

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