FAIMER Research Scientist Marta van Zanten recently authored two papers on accreditation issues. This research advances the FAIMER goals of maintaining accurate, publicly-available data resources that promote an understanding of the world’s health professions education systems and helping to inform Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG®) policy.
The first paper, written in conjunction with partners at Johns Hopkins, is entitled Describing the evidence-base for accreditation in undergraduate medical education internationally: A scoping review. The authors evaluated over 1,000 abstracts and subsequently read over 200 full text articles for possible inclusion in this scoping review. Of the full text articles reviewed, 36 met the criteria of scholarship on the topic and 85 were classified as non-scholarship. This manuscript summarizes the findings of these articles and provides an analysis of some of the difficulties in conducting research in this domain. These results can be used to guide best practices in accreditation, recommend areas for future research, and inform preparations for ECFMG’s 2023 accreditation requirement.
Paper citation: Tackett, Sean MD, MPH; Zhang, Christiana MD; Nassery, Najlla MD, MPH; Caufield-Noll, Christine MLIS, AHIP; van Zanten, Marta PhD, Med, Academic Medicine: December 2019 – Volume 94 – Issue 12 – p 1995-2008.
The second paper, entitled Using DEQAR data to enhance the World Directory of Medical Schools, compares World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) Recognition Program results and related medical school accreditation data with European Quality Assurance Register (EQAR) accreditation data. The purpose of this study was to review accreditation data included in the Database of External Quality Assurance Results (DEQAR) to help inform planned enhancements to the World Directory of Medical Schools. The search of DEQAR revealed 109 non-expired evaluation or accreditation reports from 91 higher education institutions or programs located in 21 countries that provide undergraduate (basic) medical education. Three accrediting agencies are included in DEQAR and recognized by WFME. These results will help inform planned enhancements to the World Directory of Medical Schools, including addition of accreditation data at the school level beginning in 2020.
Dr. van Zanten recently presented this paper at the Database of External Quality Assurance Results (DEQAR) Conference and European Quality Assurance Register (EQAR) Members’ Dialogue, October 2019, in Madrid, Spain, and it is published on the EQAR website: https://cloud.eqar.eu/s/3GDReeJTrGQBH5e#pdfviewer.
Page Morahan, Founding Co-Director of the FAIMER Institute, has created a 2020 calendar in support of FAIMER, featuring images of butterflies from around the world. Most of the photographs included were taken at butterfly parks, and a few were taken during her travels on behalf of FAIMER. All proceeds support FAIMER’s vision to improve the health of communities through improving health professions education.
Dr. Morahan’s calendar is available for purchase through her online store in two formats: wall and desktop/CD case. “This calendar honors those health professions educators who are so dedicated to developing the skills and knowledge of students and caring for their patients,” she says.
The FAIMER Institute is a competitive two-year fellowship program for international health professions educators who have demonstrated the potential to play a key role in improving health professions education at their institutions and in their countries. The program is unique among leadership programs and other degree programs in health professions education—it is a transformational global educational experience for health professions faculty. It is designed to teach education methods, leadership and management, education scholarship and research, and project management and evaluation, as well as to develop strong professional bonds with other educators as each Fellow becomes a member of a global network of health professions educators. An interactive, high-engagement approach uses participants’ projects as the ‘laboratory’ to apply their learning.
The FAIMER Institute offers an intense, interactive educational experience spread out over two residential sessions in Philadelphia and three distance learning sessions. Year one (March 2020 – February 2021) is comprised of a three-week onsite session in Philadelphia, followed by an 11-month distance learning session. Year two (March 2021 – December 2021) is comprised of a two-week onsite session in Philadelphia, followed by a nine-month distance learning session. Participants earn a certificate from FAIMER for completing the fellowship, and are also offered an additional opportunity to earn a Certificate in Health Professions Education: Accreditation and Assessment through the FAIMER-Keele Distance Learning program.
Participants’ education innovation projects are the focal point for application of learning at the FAIMER Institute. For 2020, FAIMER encourages applicants to propose education innovation projects that support maternal and child health. Maternal and child health projects will provide an opportunity for Fellows to connect education innovation and health outcomes, by encouraging them to identify key health problems and create health workforce education innovations to address them. Projects in other domains such as education methods, leadership, community health (in areas other than maternal and child health), and program evaluation will also be considered.
Thanks to generous support from the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) and other benefactors, FAIMER is able to sponsor most participants to attend the Institute. A wide range of financial support is available, including significant scholarships, based on need.
The deadline for application is September 30, 2019. FAIMER offers a rolling admission process. Applications are reviewed in the order they are received.
The Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG®) (www.ecfmg.org) and its Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER®) (www.faimer.org) are seeking nominees to serve on their combined Board of Trustees. We invite your participation in this important process.
Commitment to Diversity
ECFMG and FAIMER are privileged to have a dedicated, volunteer board of up to 21 members with backgrounds in international and domestic medical education, hospital leadership, law, accounting, philanthropy, education, accreditation, business leadership, community health, and other fields.
ECFMG and FAIMER are committed to board diversity including, but not limited to, gender, race, ethnicity, age, and professional background.
Board Member Responsibilities
Board members accept programmatic and fiduciary responsibility for ECFMG and FAIMER.
Members are expected to prepare for and engage in three in-person board meetings per year, as well as virtual committee meetings for the committees on which they serve.
Board members support the philanthropic efforts of FAIMER and make an annual gift to the organization (of any amount).
Board members are expected to review and abide by the Bylaws of ECFMG and FAIMER and the Board Operational Policies and Procedures.
Board members are required to report all conflicts of interest.
Board Member Criteria
The Governance Committee will use these criteria as part of their assessment of candidates. A successful candidate need not satisfy each criterion.
Demonstrated capacity for organizational decision making with voluntary public service activities.
Maintain the highest professional and personal ethics.
Be a highly motivated individual who is committed to the furtherance of ECFMG’s and FAIMER’s missions.
Possess a sense of accountability to ECFMG and FAIMER.
Have good people skills and interact well with others.
Be capable of being a spokesperson on behalf of ECFMG and/or FAIMER.
Possess the interest, commitment, and time to devote to Board of Trustees meetings, committee assignments, appeal hearings, fundraising events, and other work of the Board.
Nominations
To recommend an individual for consideration as an ECFMG/FAIMER Trustee or to self-nominate:
Submit a current CV or resume, a brief statement of the individual’s qualifications for the role, and a description of your relationship to the nominee. Self-nominees should provide a brief statement of their qualifications with their CV or resume.
Materials should be submitted as soon as possible and no later than September 20, 2019, via e-mail to Maureen Sabo, Secretary of the Board, msabo@ecfmg.org.
New Board members will be elected in early December 2019. Members are elected to an initial term of four years and are eligible for reelection to a final four-year term.
FAIMER is currently accepting 2019 applications for the FAIMER-Keele Distance Learning program. The deadline for application is August 11, 2019, and course work will begin on September 23, 2019.
Now in its seventh year, the program is conducted in partnership with Keele University and The Centre for Medical Education in Context (CenMEDIC) in the United Kingdom. Courses are administered by CenMEDIC and follow the quality assurance guidelines and policies of Keele. The guidance and expertise of Course Director Janet Grant, Ph.D., Director of CenMEDIC and Emerita Professor of Education in Medicine at The Open University, and John Boulet, Ph.D., Interim Co-Director and Vice President for Research and Data Resources of FAIMER, help participants stay connected and engaged.
What makes the FAIMER-Keele program unique is its focus on accreditation and assessment. Participants are able to earn a Certificate, Diploma, or Master’s Degree in Health Professions Education (MHPE): Accreditation and Assessment. The program aims to empower health professions educators with the knowledge and skills to take educational standards and practice to a higher level—to develop their own practice, to improve health professions education at their institutions and in their communities, and ultimately to help bring about real and lasting advances in local health care.
Program features include:
Training and mentoring from international experts in health professions education
A flexible learning format, which allows busy working professionals to learn new skills and advance their careers while continuing to practice in their current positions
Planning developments in assessment, quality, and curriculum that are contextually relevant
A focus on accreditation and assessment, in which international standards, accreditation processes, quality assurance, and monitoring are integrated into study
Ending Preventable Deaths in Togo is one of six recipients of the 2019 Projects That Work Awards
The Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG®) and its Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER®) on Monday announced the award recipients from the 2019 Projects That Work competition. Each of the six projects will receive a $30,000 grant from ECFMG/FAIMER and the opportunity to send a representative to present the project on the world stage.
Launched in 2013, Projects That Work is an annual international competition that shines a spotlight on projects that have had a significant impact on the health of communities and the education of health professionals. This year, for the first time, ECFMG/FAIMER is awarding $180,000 to help recipients expand their work. A representative from each project will present his/her project at the 2019 conference of The Network: Towards Unity for Health (TUFH) to be held September 10-13 in Darwin, Australia.
“The projects are an important link between capacity building of health workers and impact on community health,” says William Burdick, MD, FAIMER’s Vice President for Education. “Our Projects That Work competition highlights the teamwork, innovation, and evaluation that characterize the best of these. We are committed to improving world health through education, and these outstanding projects help advance that important mission.”
For this year’s competition, ECFMG/FAIMER received 53 applications from around the world. Applications were reviewed by a distinguished panel of international reviewers with a wide variety of expertise in health professions education.
The 2019 projects and representatives are:
Project: Chamas for Change: An Integrated Maternal and Child Peer Support and Micro-finance Model in Western Kenya Country: Kenya Representative: Laura Ruhl
Chamas for Change is a Community Health Volunteer (CHV)-led peer-support model that empowers women with health education and microfinance literacy during pregnancy and throughout their children’s infancy. Women participating in the program are engaged over three years. They join during the antenatal period and continue through the first and second years postpartum. The intervention combines best practices from women’s health groups and microfinance programs to improve maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) outcomes. Currently, nearly 2,000 women participate in 122 chamas (societies), led by 214 CHVs across the participating counties. A pilot study was conducted and showed a very positive impact on MNCH, and they are in the process of conducting a larger-scale validation study.
ECO-SAN was formed in May 2015 as a collaboration between the University of Rwanda and Water for People, to construct latrines for 17 selected families and at three schools for the Batwa, a socially marginalized group in Rwanda that face significant discrimination in education, housing, and employment. There is a high rate of diarrhea and pneumonia-related diseases among the Batwa, so this project aims to raise awareness about hygiene and sanitation through school education and monthly community meetings. The ECO-SAN project has taught thousands of community members proper hygiene techniques, how to properly take care of the latrines, and how to build new ones. By the end of the first year there was a sharp decrease in diarrhea and pneumonia-related cases.
The Integrate Health program is aimed at raising the standard of emergency maternal care in under-served and rural areas of Togo, where maternal and child (under five) mortality rates are very high and many of these deaths are from diseases that are entirely treatable at very low costs. The program trains, equips, and supervises community health workers to provide home-based care, and trains traditional healers to help identify danger signs and refer sick women and children to appropriate care. It was piloted effectively in three rural communities and one peri-urban community from 2015 to 2018, and preliminary data indicates a 50 percent reduction in child mortality in those pilot communities.
Project: Improving Malawian Pediatric Assessment and Care through Training (IMPACT) Country: Malawi Representative: Charles Mulilima
The IMPACT project began in 2014 to fill the need of providing pre-service Emergency Triage, Assessment, and Treatment (ETAT) training to healthcare professionals in Malawi, ensuring effective patient care to even the most isolated regions. Pre-service ETAT training has been implemented at three universities to teach medical and nursing students early identification management of children with emergency conditions. IMPACT is responsible for the training of lecturers and mobilizing resources for student training. The project leaders also offer refresher training sessions for former students and have developed participant and facilitator manuals for pre-service use. With IMPACT, many new physicians are adequately trained in ETAT procedures and have the skills to perform quality in-patient pediatric care to reduce child mortality.
Project: The Mfangano Health Navigation Program Country: Kenya Representative: Robinson Okeyo
The Organic Health Response (OHR) and the Ekialo Kiona Center (EKC) developed the Health Navigation Program to sustainably strengthen maternal emergency care in the Mfangano Island region along the shores of Lake Victoria in Western Kenya. Approximately 30,000 people reside in these remote fishing communities, which are a two-hour boat ride from the mainland and have one of the highest maternal mortality rates in East Africa. Since the project began in 2014, OHR-EKC has trained more than 30 Health Navigators who have aided with nearly 550 emergency transfers between island facilities and mainland hospitals, with an average response time of 14.44 minutes. This project developed comprehensive referral protocols for two remote Ministry of Health facilities, has written safe birth plans for more than 310 pregnancies, and has implemented the region’s first 24-hour emergency boat service.
Project: Wax and Gold Country: Ethiopia Representative: Suzanne Hally
Wax and Gold, a non-profit, non-governmental organization, worked with the staff at Saint Paul Hospital Millennium Medical College in Addis Ababa to design a comprehensive program that trains existing hospital staff to provide on-site birthing care, attend all deliveries, and perform newborn stabilization and resuscitation. This Neonatal Advanced Life Support (NALS) team is selected from hospital staff members who have Bachelor of Science degrees and a minimum of two years of bedside patient care experience. Baseline data taken before and after the employment of full-time NALS teams show that neonatal mortality decreased from 3.53 percent to .33 percent, and rate of admission into the newborn intensive care unit decreased from 22.8 percent to 10.4 percent in two years.
Eric Nizeyimana of Rwanda, who originally was selected as a 2018 Projects That Work recipient, also will present at the 2019 Network: TUFH conference. His project is titled Community-Based Malaria Prevention Empowerment.
The CMCL-FAIMER program was the second of FAIMER’s Regional Institutes to be developed, launching in 2006 under the direction of Tejinder Singh (PHIL 2003). Dr. Singh served as the program’s Director from 2006-2019, with Dr. Badyal joining him as Co-Director in 2011.
FAIMER extends its sincere appreciation to Dr. Singh for his contributions to the development and growth of the CMCL-FAIMER fellowship program, and wishes Dr. Badyal continued success!
Recent Student Projects for Health award recipients presenting their projects at the conference of The Network: Towards Unity for Health.
By developing programs that promote HIV prevention, tackle malnutrition, and combat air pollution, college students around the world aren’t waiting until they graduate to make a difference in their communities, and they are being recognized for their efforts. The Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG®) and its Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER®) on Monday announced the recipients of the 2019 Student Projects for Health awards.
Now in its fifth year, the Student Projects for Health competition recognizes students who have made outstanding contributions through projects that promote community health and well-being. It is open to all undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in any course of study who have been participating in such projects. The competition is supported by FAIMER and by ECFMG through its GEMxsm program, which promotes global educational exchange in medicine and the health professions. Since the competition was launched in 2015, ECFMG/FAIMER has presented awards to 75 students from 22 countries.
“Promoting quality medical education and health care worldwide are core to the ECFMG/FAIMER mission,” said William W. Pinsky, MD, President and CEO of ECFMG and Board Chair of FAIMER. “The quality of this year’s projects and the engagement of these students in improving the health of their communities are truly inspiring. The recipients have demonstrated the innovation and diversity of efforts needed to meet global health care needs.”
From the 72 submissions received from around the globe, ECFMG/FAIMER selected 12 students from nine countries to receive this year’s awards. Submissions were reviewed by an international panel of 18 reviewers. They were judged on the quality of the project, degree and nature of the applicant’s participation, the applicant’s contribution to project innovation, the impact of the project, and diffusion and integration of the project.
The award recipients are invited to present their projects during the 2019 conference of The Network: Towards Unity for Health which will be held September 10-13 in Darwin, Australia. The award includes air travel, hotel accommodations, and conference registration fee.
The 2019 recipients are:
Oscar Acopiado of Manila, Philippines, a medical student at the University of the Philippines Manila College of Medicine, for the project titled The Quisumbing-Escandor Film Festival for Health
Samuel Robert Bunting of Chicago, Ill., a medical student at the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Sciences Chicago Medical School, for the project titled Interprofessional Collaboration to Increase PrEP Prescription for HIV-Prevention in Primary Care: A Student-Led Initiative
Fabrice Humara of Kigali, Rwanda, a pharmacy student at the University of Rwanda College of Medicine & Health Sciences, for the project titled Pharmacy Students’ Engagement in Prison Inmates’ Health Attention to Tuberculosis Disease
Hiba Eltayeb Mahgoub of Wad Madani, Sudan, a medical student at the University of Gezira, for the project titled Health Promotion Among School-Aged Children in Wadsrair El-Dar Village
Lauren Yu-Lien Maldonado of Durham, N.C., and Los Angeles, Calif., a medical student at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, for the project titled Chamas for Change: An Integrated Maternal and Child Peer Support and Micro-Finance Model in Western Kenya
Evode Mbabazi of Kigali, Rwanda, a medical student at the University of Rwanda College of Medicine & Health Sciences, for the project titled CINEMA Education for Health
Yidnekachew Girma Mogessie of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, a medical student at St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College, for the project titled Sexual Health Education for Better Awareness
Husna Moola of Cape Town, South Africa, a medical student at the University of Cape Town, for the project titled Prevalence of Dysglycemia in a Population that Attends a Masjid in Cape Town and a Novel Approach to Community Epidemiology
Julius Nuwagaba of Kampala, Uganda, a medical student at Makerere University School of Medicine, for the project titled She Decides Project
Stephen Odiwuor Ochieng of Juja, Kenya, a medical student at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, for the project titled Early Childhood Development Center Malnutrition Program
Nishimagizwe Patience of Kigali, Rwanda, a medical student at the University of Rwanda College of Medicine & Health Sciences, for the project titled CompanionApp
Amitavikram Sattigeri of Delhi, India, a medical student at Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, for the project titled WindMe: The Electricity-Free Exhaust Fan for Combating Indoor Air Pollution in Indian Slums
The Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG®) and its Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER) announced today that Jeanette Mladenovic, MD, MBA, has been selected as the next President of FAIMER. Dr. Mladenovic will join FAIMER on August 22, 2019, succeeding John J. Norcini, PhD, who has led FAIMER since May 2002. Dr. Mladenovic will serve as a member of the ECFMG-FAIMER Executive Leadership Team.
“Dr. Mladenovic has demonstrated the commitment to collaboration and innovation that will ensure the continued growth and development of FAIMER as a world leader in promoting global health,” said William W. Pinsky, MD, President and CEO of ECFMG and Chair of the FAIMER Board of Directors. “Under her leadership, FAIMER will continue to be a strategic partner to ECFMG and other organizations that strive to promote quality health care worldwide.”
Dr. Mladenovic has spent her career in academic administrative roles, most recently serving as Executive Vice President and Provost at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), an academic health center comprised of five schools with over 100 degree granting programs, several research institutes, and an integrated health system. Among her many accomplishments were the opening of a new School of Public Health, an Interprofessional Rural Campus distributed throughout the state, a novel campus in Southeast Asia (Thailand, Laos, Myanmar), and a collaborative life sciences building serving three universities. Previously, she held positions as Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education (two campuses) and Director of Research Education at the University of Miami, Senior Associate Dean and Chair of Medicine at SUNY Downstate, and Chief of Medicine at the University of Colorado and SUNY Stonybrook. A hematologist by training, she oversaw a funded stem cell research laboratory for 18 years. Following her retirement from OHSU in 2017, she founded The Center for Women in Academic Medicine and Science (CWAMS).
Dr. Mladenovic received her undergraduate degree from the University of Washington and is an Alpha Omega Alpha graduate of its School of Medicine. She trained in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital and Stanford University, with a Chief Residency at the University of Washington, where she also completed fellowship training in hematology. She has an MBA with distinction from the University of Miami, and attended the Harvard Law School Program on Negotiation. Dr. Mladenovic has served in leadership roles for the American Board of Internal Medicine, American Board of Medical Specialties, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, American Society of Hematology, Association of Professors of Medicine, and the Society of Ultrasound in Medical Education.
The Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG®) and its Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER) announced today that Jeanette Mladenovic, MD, MBA, has been selected as the next President of FAIMER. Dr. Mladenovic will join FAIMER on August 22, 2019, succeeding John J. Norcini, PhD, who has led FAIMER since May 2002. Dr. Mladenovic will serve as a member of the ECFMG-FAIMER Executive Leadership Team.