To All Students Interested in the Medical University of Varna:

It is not the policy of the North American office or the university to discuss program related issues on public chat forums. Public chat forums are not the most popular venues to obtain reliable information. The message that we have elected to respond to is a perfect example of this. In this rare circumstance, we have elected to respond to a post by an uniformed individual who is misleading existing and/or prospective students with inaccurate information.

This individual is stating that the Medical University of Varna's four-year English program is not recognized in USA. This is a complete nonsense.

Here is some background information for those of you not familar with the ECMFG and/or WHO directory. WHO is merely a listing of the medical schools that are chartered to operate in a particular country. Often times people use the phrase "WHO recognition". This is not entirely correct because WHO does not recognize or give accreditation to any medical school any where in the world. WHO is merely a directory which receives its information from the home country and merely lists that information in a published directory. WHO does not give approvals to any particular programs and is not concerned with the language of instruction. Additionally, the duration of the program is not within the purview of WHO.

For foreign medical graduates intending to practice in USA, the medical school must be listed in the ECFMG's directory of medical schools.ECFMG no longer uses the WHO directory and has established their own database, which is accessble online at their website.

Similar to WHO, ECFMG is not an accreditation agency and does not recognize or give approvals to foreign medical schools. The ECFMG database is merely a compilation of information it receives from the host countries in which the medical schools are located.

The Medical University of Varna has not yet updated its ECFMG profile to include its English-language curriculum. This, however, does not affect the validity of the degree issued by that institution. If you read the ECFMG's own explanation of its database, you will realize that the language of instruction, whether listed or not, has no affect on the validity of a medical degree issued by a medical school duly chartered by the country in which the institution operates.

Below is a complete excerpt from the ECFMG's own website, explaining how the information is collected and included in its database. You should also pay close attention to the fact that it is the medical school that updates its own profie and ECFMG merely lists the information that it receives from the host country.

************************************************** ***********

http://imed.ecfmg.org/

"The International Medical Education Directory (IMED) 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 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.

The following information is available in IMED:
· Medical school name
· Name of the university with which the medical school is affiliated (if applicable)
· Medical school address, telephone/fax numbers and email address
· Medical school website address
· Former official names of the medical school (if applicable)
· Degree title (title of the medical degree currently awarded by the medical school or university)
· Graduation years, which are calendar years the medical school has been recognized by the government agency in the country where the school is located. Graduation years for many schools begin in 1953, although individual medical schools may have been recognized prior to that date.

· Year instruction began
· Language of instruction
· Duration of the curriculum
· Entrance examination requirement
· Eligibility of foreign (non-national) students
· Total enrollment

IMED lists medical schools in each country alphabetically by the name of the medical school. You may search by various fields, including geographic region, country, name of medical school and the city where the school is located. Detailed search instructions are provided.
Medical school officials and Ministries of Health or other appropriate government agencies that wish to provide updated information should send communications to the following address. Individuals who have general questions concerning IMED may also send communications to this address."

International Medical Education Directory (IMED)
c/o FAIMER
3624 Market St., 4th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19104
USA
Fax: 215.386.9767
Email: imed@faimer.org
************************************************** ***********

ECFMG is merely concerned with whether or not a particular medical is chartered and recognized within the legal framework of the country in which it operates. If the medical school is legitimately chartered and is recognized by its parent country, ECFMG and WHO listings are automatic. Neither ECFMG nor WHO ever verify the accuracy of the information provided, nor will they assess the quality of a particular school or a program. The language of instruction is merely informational and has no affect on the validity of the medical degree for ECFMG purposes.

There are two states in USA where language of instruction is an issue. They are the States of California and New Mexico. The Medical Boards of California and New Mexico have taken the position that M.D. programs taught in a language other than the native language of the parent country must be separately evaluated and approved by their own independent process. By way of clarification, New Mexico does not have its own approval process, but uses the list of schools approved by the State of California. California, however, has its own independent approval process, which has nothing to do with WHO or ECFMG.

At the present time, the English curriculum at Varna is not approved for California licensure. Therefore, students intending to apply for licensure in either California or New Mexico should not apply to the English program at this time. The Medical University of Varna is otherwise recognized for licensure and residency in all other states. The university has an impressive list of alumni who are either in residency or are practicing physicians in USA and elsewhere in the world.

Students should not confuse the ECFMG rules and ECFMG certification requirements with the rules in California and New Mexico. These are two separate issues and are not related to one another.

The North American office strives to provide current and accurate information to all existing and prospective applicants. The office is staffed by highly qualified men and women with a great deal of expertise in medical education, including issues pertaining to residency and licensure. The office welcomes inquiries and applications from all qualified applicants world-wide.

Anyone interested in learning more about the program and obtaining accurate information is advised to contact us by phone or E-mail at: 416-290-6107 / admissions@varnamed.org Additional infromation may also be obtained by visiting the Faculty of Medicine's website at:

www.varnamed.org

Please do not leave your questions on this chat board, as we will not respond to student inquiries on public forums.

We hope this message cleared up any confusion that may have been generated by irresponsible messages coming from equally uninformed people. Students are also encouraged to contact WHO and ECFMG for even more accurate information.

Best wishes,
North American Office