Ambassador Information

Background and purpose of the program

To expand health education initiatives around the globe, IAMSE has created an Ambassador Program. The purpose of the program is to promote the vision and value of IAMSE in countries that are currently underrepresented in IAMSE’s membership. Each Ambassador acts as an IAMSE representative to spearhead the formation of a local network (IAMSE embassy) in their country to promote collaborative scholarly activities, service, and training. The program was initiated in March 2020 as a subcommittee of the IAMSE Membership Committee.

Program Goals:

  1. Increase the number of members around the globe within IAMSE.
  2. Facilitate engagement of international members in IAMSE activities and initiatives.
  3. Promote international collaborative efforts leading to scholarly products.
  4. Promote faculty development in medical education through involvement in IAMSE.

Duration of the Program

The Ambassadors will provide an outcomes report to the IAMSE Board of Directors by December 2024 and the IAMSE Board of Directors will evaluate the Program on effectiveness.

Definitions

  1. IAMSE Ambassador: individual IAMSE member representing IAMSE in their country, appointed by the IAMSE Membership Committee. Typically, there is a maximum of one Ambassador per country.
  2. IAMSE Embassy: local and/or virtual network of educators in the country of the Ambassador, organized and led by the Ambassador. There is no limit to the number of Embassy members, however Embassies must consist of at least 3 members (including the IAMSE Ambassador).
  3. Ambassador Committee meetings: monthly meetings where all appointed Ambassadors meet. This meeting is led by the Chair of the Ambassador Program and supported by IAMSE Admin.
  4. Embassy meetings: bi-monthly meetings between the IAMSE Ambassador and their own IAMSE Embassy members, organized and led by the IAMSE Ambassador.

Profile of an Ambassador

  1. Ambassadors will be IAMSE members in good standing.
  2. Ambassadors have a demonstrable interest and experience in health sciences education.
  3. Ambassadors are well established educators and recognized educational leaders in their country.
  4. Ambassadors have an interest in growing the size and diversity of the IAMSE Ambassador Program and addressing the needs of the educators in their country.
  5. Ambassadors can communicate in English.

Appointment and Terms

  1. Ambassadors will be appointed by the IAMSE Membership Committee, in accordance with the IAMSE Administrative Guide, in a manner that ensures inclusion and diversity.
  2. Ambassadors serve a 3-year term, and appointments can be renewed once. In their last year of appointment, the Ambassadors will identify a suitable replacement(s) for consideration by the Membership Committee.
  3. The Ambassador Committee will consist of no more than 16 active members (each representing a different country or region) including a Chair appointed by the IAMSE President, and a vice-chair appointed by the Ambassador Committee Chair.

Requirements and Expectations of an IAMSE Ambassador:

  1. Ambassadors will maintain a current institutional IAMSE membership during their term of appointment. IAMSE will provide a free institutional IAMSE membership (maximum of 6 faculty members) for the first year of the Ambassador’s 3-year term, and a 20% discount on an institutional membership for the remaining 2-year term. If an institutional membership is rejected by the Ambassador’s home institution, Ambassadors will seek at least 2 additional individual IAMSE memberships from their home institution during their term of appointment. IAMSE will provide free individual IAMSE memberships to the Ambassador and up to 5 additional individuals for the first year of the Ambassador’s 3-year term, and a 20% discount on individual IAMSE memberships for the remaining 2-year term.
  2. Ambassadors attend 1-hour monthly committee meetings of the Ambassador Committee and have time available to work on committee projects as needed. Attendance of these meetings is important and Ambassadors who miss more than 30% (4 sessions) of the meetings over the course of a year will be asked to step down to allow other members to participate.

Ambassador Roles and Responsibilities:

IAMSE Ambassadors will act on behalf of IAMSE in their countries to:

  1. Create a sustainable IAMSE Embassy in their country to promote IAMSE’s vision and to identify faculty development needs.
  2. Meet with their own Embassy members every two months and keep minutes of these meetings.
  3. Provide a semiannual (December) report to the IAMSE Membership Committee and an annual (June) report to the IAMSE Board of Directors to be reviewed at the Board of Directors meeting at the annual IAMSE in-person conference. Reports will detail the accomplishments/challenges for each Ambassador and highlight relevant activities in their Embassy (e.g., outreach to educational institutions, email communications, presentations, workshops, and webinars, etc.).
  1. Embassies are expected to develop a workshop within 2 years after the Embassy has been founded (i.e., Embassy consists of at least 3 members) that will be geared towards the faculty development needs of the country’s educators.
  2. Promote IAMSE’s activities through regional and national conferences and through electronic communications and other means. Specifically, Ambassadors will:
    • Promote IAMSE membership using promotional and educational material created by IAMSE.
    • Promote IAMSE publications, including its journal Medical Science Educator, IAMSE Manuals, IAMSE Toolkits, etc.
    • Promote participation in and contributions to IAMSE’s annual in-person conference and the December Virtual Forum.
    • Promote scholarly activities in collaboration with other IAMSE members by forming groups to create scholarly activities that will translate into posters, articles, or other scholarly products

Support for the Ambassador

The Ambassador is expected to build a local Embassy (virtual network) in their own country and develop activities to support the needs of the local community of educators. To achieve these goals, IAMSE is offering the following support:

  1. Free IAMSE institutional or individual memberships as described above under Ambassador Roles and Responsibilities.
  2. Free registration to one (1) IAMSE annual meeting for the Ambassador during their term.
  3. A 20% discount on ESME@IAMSE and IAMSE Fellowship training for the Ambassador.
  4. IAMSE administrative support for sending out announcements and promotion of activities to the IAMSE membership.

Ambassador Benefits

  1. International recognition through participation in building the IAMSE Ambassador program.
  2. Networking opportunities to initiate scholarly activities in health professions education. 
  3. Building experience that will advance their career and position the individual for further leadership roles within IAMSE.