CREDENTIALS
Your goal is most likely to become a licensed physician in the United States or Canada. Our goal is to make sure that this happens. It is extremely important that the medical school in which you are enrolled is recognized by the ECFMG (Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates) the organization which grants you the right to take all three steps of the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) which must be passed to become a practicing physician in the U.S. Recogition by the ECFMG depends directly on whether or not the school is listed in the International Medical Education Directory (IMED) which provides an accurate and up-to-date resource of information about international medical schools that are recognized by the appropriate government agency in the countries where the medical schools are located. The agency responsible for this recognition in most countries is the Ministry of Health. Medical schools that are recognized by the appropriate agencies in their respective countries are listed in the International Medical Education Directory.

A medical school is listed in IMED after the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical School Education and Research (FAIMER) receives confirmation from the Ministry of Health or other appropriate agency that the medical school is recognized by the Ministry or other agency. FAIMER also updates the International Medical Education Directory as information about medical schools is received from Ministries of Health or other appropriate agencies, including the World Health Organization (WHO). Please note that the WHO is in the process of replacing their World Directory of Medical Schools. As explained on their website, the Directory will be replaced by a new, more comprehensive global database maintained by the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

As an IAU student, you are guaranteed that we satisfy each of the various "levels" of credentialing discussed above, including the unreleased global database compiled by the University of Copenhagen.

It can be very confusing when introduced to all these acronyms so PLEASE call our U.S. office if clarification is needed.