国际医学教育专门委员会是一所新建立的社会机构，其任务是开发一套全世界医生必须达到的“全球医学教育最低基本（核心）要求”，同时收集全球医学教育各方面的信息。在一些领先医学院校试用以后，这些核心要求将在整个学术界推广，用以确保全世界医学教育质量。本核心要求也可用作医学教育项目的国际评估和认证指标。IIIME的工作情况将由三个来自世界各国的医学专家组成的专门委员会监督进行，分别为核心委员会，导向委员会和咨询委员会。其办公地点在纽约市郊。

    1999年6月9日，纽约中华医学基金会理事会决定成立一个应对全球医学教育问题的专门委员会。中华医学基金会作为洛克菲勒基金会的分支机构，其运作开始于1914年。自1928年以来，纽约中华医学基金会一直作为正式独立机构存在。该组织的资金长期用于支持中国及一些东亚和东南亚国家医务人员，特别是为医学教育提供帮助。

    国际医学教育专门委员会（IIME）的各种多边协定为全球性流动提供了可能性，并鼓励设置统一教育标准，相互承认文凭，放宽对专业人员从业程序的限制。目前尽管全世界各医学院校的课程设置大致相同，却并没有一个全球性的统一内容、标准和基本要求。因此，建立一个全球性医学教育统一的基本要求和标准实为必要。这套标准应涵盖医学基础科学、临床经验、知识、技术、技能及伦理。事实上，此乃全世界医务人员培训中的核心因素，也是医疗服务的基本要素。当然，这些基本要求只是医学教育的一部分，每个国家、地区、甚至每个医学院在教学大纲中都针对其政治经济或文化背景另有专门规定。

    The Institute for International Medical Education is a newly established institution entrusted with the development of "global minimum essential (core) requirements" to be required by physicians throughout the world, as well as the task of collecting global information on different aspects of education of the medical profession. After testing these "essentials" in a few leading medical schools, they will be offered to the academic community as a tool to secure a quality of physicians' education worldwide. They can also serve for international evaluation and recognition of quality medical education programs. Three committees composed of medical experts from around the globe supervise the work of IIME: the Core Committee, the Steering Committee and the Advisory Committee. Our offices are located in suburban White Plains, New York.

    On June 9, 1999, the Board of Trustees of China Medical Board of New York decided to establish an institute that would deal with the global issues of medical education. The China Medical Board began its operations in 1914 as a division of The Rockefeller Foundation. In 1928, the China Medical Board of New York, Inc. has functioned as an independent foundation. The Board has devoted its funds largely to supporting health personnel and in particular medical education in China and in several East and Southeast Asian nations.

    Different multilateral agreements are broadly opening doors to global mobility and are encouraging the development of common educational standards, mutual recognition of diplomas and liberalization of processes by which professionals are allowed to practice. Although the medical curriculum is astonishingly consistent throughout the world, there are no common content standards or essential requirements to be used worldwide. Therefore, essential requirements and standards in medical education of universal relevance are not only realistic but also urgently needed. They should include the sciences that are basic to medicine, clinical experiences, knowledge, skills, competencies and ethical values. These are the core elements of the training of physicians and are fundamental to the practice of health care worldwide. These essential requirements to be embedded in medical curriculum represent only a portion of the educational content of the medical curriculum, since each country, region and medical school has unique needs that the educational curriculum should address, such as socioeconomic factors or a particular country's cultural context.