Faculty development through international exchange: the IMEX initiative.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Faculty development is often local and international experiences are usually limited to conferences and courses. In 2006, five schools across the globe decided to enhance international faculty experiences through an exciting new collaboration the International Medical Educators Exchange (IMEX) initiative. METHOD: Twice a year, one of the five schools in the Netherlands, Canada, Sweden and the UK organizes a week of faculty development activities for experienced medical educators from each school, including group discussions, short presentations, observations and active engagement in local education, one-on-one meetings with local faculty members, and many opportunities for in-depth discussion. We administered a survey to evaluate the impact of this international exchange. RESULTS: By August 2013, 31 IMEX scholars had attended at least one of the 14 site visits held; most of them (29) had attended 3-5 site visits. Responding IMEX alumni (55%, N = 16) felt that their experiences impacted their personal competence and international orientation, and to some extent their career, their daily work and their institution. Most features of the IMEX program were valued as highly important and highly successful. DISCUSSION: IMEX has established itself as an important additional faculty development opportunity for those medical educators who wish to develop and pursue a career in education.