The International Joint Medicine Program offered as a result of the collaboration between the Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) Faculty of Medicine and the Marmara University Faculty of Medicine was acknowledged by the World Federation of Medical Education and the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research on the 17th of February 2017 and added to the World Directory of Medical Schools (WDOMS). As a result, Medicine Faculty students will be eligible to take the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) which could allow them to specialise in the USA.
WDOMS is a joint World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) and Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education Research (FAIMER) initiative. WDOMS is comprised of FAIMER’s International Medical Education Directory (IMED) database and WFME’s Avicenna database. Institutional information such as faculty names, affiliations, acceptance criteria, duration of syllabus and program details are stored in WDOMS.
Those who completed their medicine education in a country other than USA or Canada and want to specialise in the USA, require an Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) certificate. In order to obtain an ECFMG certificate students must be graduates of a school on the World Directory of Medical Schools.
In his statement EMU Rector Prof. Dr. Necdet Osam, noted that they are very pleased about the achievement and that EMU Rector’s Office will continue to proceed according to their vision and goals. Prof. Dr. Osam also stated that they greatly value accreditations for all programs and that they are studiously carrying out the required work in order to add other programs to global literature. Providing a reminder of the fact that EMU is the first and only university from the TRNC appearing on the Times Higher Education World Rankings, Prof. Dr. Osam noted that they are very happy about the latest achievement from the Faculty of Medicine.
EMU Faculty of Medicine Dean Prof. Dr. Nahide Gökçora stated that they have been running the English-medium joint Medicine program with Marmara University Faculty of Medicine since 2012, going on to state that the faculty aims to raise competent, knowledgeable doctors with correct demeanours who can meet the requirements of global communities. Stating that modern medicine education should require students to obtain both national and international experience/education Prof. Dr. Gökçora noted that the recognition of medicine programs is important not only in terms of ensuring that the quality of education provided is at an international level but also as it provides the opportunity for graduates to continue their education or careers internationally.
EMU Faculty of Medicine students expressed their satisfaction regarding the quality of education they receive at the faculty stating that they are proud to say that the faculty has proven its conformity to international standards.
EMU Faculty of Medicine pre-clinical student representative Buse Ataoğlu and clinical 5th year international student Whitney Onuorah thanked EMU and Marmara University Rectorate on behalf of all students for the recognition gained by the joint program describing this as ‘wonderful’ news. Stating that this achievement is very important for them, the students described the recognition as paving the way to their dream of specialising in the United States.
