The Avicenna Directories project is a developing public database of worldwide medical schools, schools of pharmacy, schools of public health and educational institutions of other academic health professions. The Avicenna Directories are maintained by the University of Copenhagen in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME). The project is named after Avicenna, a physician and philosopher born near Bukhara in the 10th century.
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AVICENNA Directory for medicine
The AVICENNA Directory for medicine is a public database of worldwide medical schools. The AVICENNA Directory for medicine replaced the WHO World Directory of Medical Schools in 2008.
History
The WHO published the World Directory of Medical Schools from 1953-2007. The 7th and final print edition of the directory was published in 2000. Between 2000-2007, the WHO published the directory electronically, along with updates received after the 2000 print publication. In August 2007, the WHO signed an agreement with the University of Copenhagen to transfer responsibility for development and maintenance of the directory. In March 2008, the AVICENNA project was announced and in August 2008, the contents of the World Directory of Medical Schools were transferred to the AVICENNA Directory for medicine.
In 2013, the AVICENNA Directories merged with the International Medical Education Directory (IMED) to create the new World Directory of Medical Schools. This new directory was launched in April 2014.
Development
The Avicenna Directories will include contact details, admission rules, program descriptions, titles of degrees and diplomas awarded, and accreditation status of institutions. Once the AVICENNA Directory for medicine is completed, additional directories for pharmacy schools, schools of public health, and the other academic health professions will be developed. As of 2014, no new medical school data will be added to AVICENNA as it has been replaced with the World Directory of Medical Schools.
Collaborating organizations
The Avicenna Directories are maintained and primarily developed at the University of Copenhagen. Collaborating organizations on the project include: