In 2000, the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG®), located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States, established the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER®) with the intention of helping to improve global health by improving health professions education. FAIMER concentrates its efforts in developing regions in South Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and focuses on three specific strategies: faculty development, targeted research that informs health workforce policy and practice, and development of data that advances educational quality improvement decisions.
In 2001, as part of its commitment to health professions educators, FAIMER established the FAIMER Institute, a two-year, part-time fellowship for health professions educators that focuses on the development of educational, leadership, and management skills and knowledge, as well as the development of a professional community of practice. Building on this program, FAIMER has collaborated with key individuals and institutions at the local level to develop FAIMER Regional Institutes, centers of activity where ongoing exchange among educators is intended to improve local health professions education systems. FAIMER currently has one Regional Institute in Brazil; three in India, including the CMCL-FAIMER Regional Institute; and one in Southern Africa. All of the Institutes offer fellowship opportunities for faculty who have the potential to play key roles in improving health professions education at their schools and in their regions.
For more information on FAIMER, please visit www.faimer.org.
REGIONAL INITIATIVES:
FAIMER concentrates its activities in developing regions in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. These regional concentrations guide the selection of Fellows and the allocation of FAIMER resources. They also focus the development of FAIMER’s Regional Institutes, centers of activity where ongoing exchange among health professions educators is intended to expand improvement in local health professions education systems. Applications are encouraged from educators across all health professions disciplines and across national boundaries in the regions.
FAIMER Regional Institutes are modeled on the FAIMER Institute curriculum. They include residential sessions, as well as distance learning sessions. Each participant is also required to propose and implement an education innovation project that is supported by the home institution. The length and number of the residential sessions as well as the number of Fellows accepted each year varies among the Regional Institutes. Please see details below.
To date there are eight Regional Institutes, four in India, two in China, one in Brazil, and one in Sub-Saharan Africa.
MANIPAL INDIA
Ciraj Ali Mohammed, M.Sc., Ph.D.
Professor of Microbiology and Deputy Director,
Manipal Centre for Professional and Personal Development
Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal.
IndiaDirector, MAHE-FAIMER International Institute for Leadership in Interprofessional Education
CMCL-FAIMER Regional Institute 2008 Fellow & FAIMER Institute 2010 Fellow
Fulbright Visiting Scholar 2012 & IFME 2013 Fellow
MAHE-FAIMER International Institute for Leadership in Interprofessional Education website
The MAHE-FAIMER International Institute for Leadership in Interprofessional Education welcomed its first group of Fellows in May 2015. The program, under the direction of Ciraj Ali Mohammed is based at MAHE in Manipal, India, and is open to all professions interested in contributing to the health of communities, particularly from South Asia. Twenty fellows are accepted each year. The selected candidates will have an opportunity to develop their leadership skills through health related projects that incorporate collaborative interprofessional practice.
MUMBAI INDIA
Avinash Supe, M.B.B.S., M.S.
Professor and Head,
Department of Surgical Gastroenterology King Edward Memorial Hospital Mumbai,
India Director, GSMC-FAIMER Regional Institute FAIMER Institute
2002 Fellow
In June 2014, the GSMC-FAIMER Institute celebrated its 10th anniversary. To commemorate the occasion, faculty members produced a book entitled Celebrating 10 Years of Professional Development.
GSMC-FAIMER Regional Institute website
The GSMC-FAIMER Regional Institute, the first Regional Institute to be developed, started in June 2005 and is based at the Seth G.S. Medical College in Mumbai, India. The College’s Medical Education and Technology Unit mounts the program each year under the direction of Avinash Supe. The program is open to interested health professions educators from South Asia. Sixteen Fellows are accepted each year.
Click here for detailed information about the GSMC‑FAIMER fellowship. Apply >>
COIMBATORE, INDIA
Thomas Chacko, M.B.B.S., M.D.
Professor and Head, Community Medicine and Medical Education
PSG Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Coimbatore,
IndiaDirector, PSG-FAIMER Regional InstituteFAIMER Institute
2004 Fellow | PSG-FAIMER Regional Institute website
The PSG-FAIMER Regional Institute, under the direction of Thomas Chacko, welcomed its first class of Fellows in April 2007. It is based at PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research in Coimbatore in southern India. The program is open to interested health professions educators from South Asia. Sixteen Fellows are accepted each year.
Click here for detailed information about the PSG‑FAIMER fellowship. Apply >>
Brazil-FAIMER Regional Institute website (Portuguese-language website)
Beberibe, Ceará, Brazil
Eliana Amaral, M.D., Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology Universidade Estadual de Campinas São Paulo, Brazil Co-Director, Brazil-FAIMER Regional Institute FAIMER Institute 2003 Fellow
Henry Campos, M.D., M.Sc., Ph.D. Professor of Internal Medicine Vice Rector Universidade Federal do Ceará Fortaleza, Brazil Co-Director, Brazil-FAIMER Regional Institute FAIMER Institute 2002 Fellow The first residential session of the Brazil-FAIMER Regional Institute, under the direction of Henry Campos and Eliana Amaral, took place in February 2007 in Tabuba, Ceará, Brazil. The program, conducted in Portuguese, is currently held in Beberibe, Ceará, and is open to interested health professions educators from Brazil. Thirty Brazilian fellows are accepted each year.
Click here for detailed information about the Brazil‑FAIMER fellowship. Apply >>
Sub-Saharan Africa
Dianne Manning, Ph.D., M.Ed. Associate Professor and Deputy Dean: Education Faculty of Health Sciences University of Pretoria Pretoria, South Africa Co-Director, Sub-Saharan Africa-FAIMER Regional Institute FAIMER Institute 2008 Fellow
Jacqueline van Wyk, B.Sc., M.Ed., Ph.D. Evaluator and Staff Developer University of KwaZulu-Natal Durban, South Africa Co-Director, Sub-Saharan Africa-FAIMER Regional Institute FAIMER Institute 2004 Fellow The first session of the Sub-Saharan Africa-FAIMER Regional Institute (SAFRI) took place in February 2008 in Cape Town, South Africa, marking the launch of FAIMER’s first regional initiative on the continent of Africa. SAFRI is being shepherded by a new “voluntary association” made up of a collaboration of FAIMER Institute Fellows working at a number of different health professions education institutions in the region. They have devised an innovative program model that includes three residential sessions during the two-year program. Fellows participate in two residential sessions, approximately four months apart, during the first year of the program. Their third residential session takes place the following year, and overlaps with the first residential session of the incoming class of Fellows. The program is open to interested health professions educators from Africa. Sixteen Fellows are accepted each year.
Click here for detailed information about the SAFRI fellowship. Apply >>
Shenyang, China
Bo Qu, Ph.D. Professor and Head, Research Center for Medical Education China Medical University Shengyang, China Director, CMB-CMU-FAIMER Regional Institute FAIMER Institute 2010 FellowCMB-CMU-FAIMER Regional Institute website
The CMB-CMU-FAIMER Regional Institute, the first Regional Institute to be developed in China, began in August 2013. Based at the China Medical University (CMU) in Shenyang, China, the CMB-CMU-FAIMER program is organized and administered under the direction of Bo Qu, with the support of a core team from CMU. The program is open to interested health professions educators from China. Twenty Fellows are accepted each year.
Click here for detailed information about the CMB-CMU-FAIMER fellowship. Apply >>
Guangzhou, China
Zhimin Jia, M.B.B.S, M.Med, Ph.D, M.D.Associate Professor and Deputy DeanSchool of Pharmaceutical Sciences Southern Medical University Guangzhou, ChinaDirector, SMU-FAIMER Regional InstituteFAIMER Institute 2010 Fellow Sasakawa Fellowship 2007
SMU-FAIMER Regional Institute website
The SMU-FAIMER Regional Institute will welcome its first group of Fellows in November 2016. The program, under the direction of Zhimin Jia, will be based at Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, China, and is open to interested health professions educators from China and Southeast Asia. Twenty Fellows will be accepted each year.
Click here for detailed information about the SMU-FAIMER fellowship. Apply >>