ABSTRACT
The Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER), a member of Intealth, offers longitudinal faculty development programs (LFDPs) in health professions education (HPE) and leadership through its International FAIMER Institute (IFI) in the United States and FAIMER Regional Institutes (FRIs) globally. FAIMER fosters mutual collaboration and delineates shared responsibilities for FRI development in partnership with local institutions, using an adapted hub-and-spoke organizational design. This paper describes FAIMER's model, its sustainability, and its impacts at individual, institutional, and national levels. IFI was launched in 2001 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as a 2-year part-time hybrid LFDP; with the COVID-19 pandemic onset, IFI transitioned to a fully online program. Since FAIMER's launch, 11 FRIs developed in Brazil, Chile, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, and South Africa, each modeled on the IFI curriculum and adapted to local context. The more than 1,600 IFI and FRI graduates (fellows) from over 55 countries now form a global community of health professions educators who have shared exposure to HPE methods and assessment, leadership and management, educational scholarship and research, and project management and evaluation. Across all global locations and program formats, fellows self-reported a similar increase in knowledge and skills in HPE. All programs center on the fellows' institutional projects as experiential learning; these projects have focused primarily on educational methods and curriculum revisions. An increased quality of education was reported as the top impact resulting from fellows' projects. As a result of these programs, fellows have influenced education policy in their countries and established academic societies for HPE, thus contributing to recognition of the HPE academic specialty. FAIMER has successfully developed a sustainable model for advancing HPE globally, creating a vibrant network of health professions educators who have influenced country-specific educational policy and practice. FAIMER's model offers one approach to building global capacity in HPE.
ABSTRACT
The United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) was paused in 2020 because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and discontinued in 2021. Step 2 CS was an important tool to assess readiness of international medical graduates (IMGs) to enter graduate medical education (GME) in the United States. This article describes the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates' (ECFMG's) response to the discontinuation of Step 2 CS. ECFMG certifies IMGs who seek eligibility for GME and licensure in the United States. Requirements for ECFMG certification include, among other factors, demonstration of adequate clinical skills and English proficiency, which were previously assessed as part of Step 2 CS. Beginning in June 2020 and during the next year, ECFMG modified the certification process with the introduction of 6 opportunities (pathways) for IMGs to demonstrate adequate clinical skills and a new test of English proficiency. In addition, permanent ECFMG certification is now granted only after the successful completion of the first year of residency, as determined by the program director. The COVID-19 pandemic and discontinuation of Step 2 CS caused a significant crisis for many IMGs who sought entrance into the United States, impacting the careers of those who had planned entry and those who would be eligible for U.S. training and the future workforce. Despite challenges due to the ongoing global pandemic, ECFMG certification continues to allow qualified physicians to enter U.S. GME and ensures that these individuals are ready to begin supervised training.