American Austrian Foundation Online

Open Medical Institute

The OMI was established in 2005 by the American Austrian Foundation, The Open Society Institute and the Austrian Ministry of Science and Education to consolidate the Salzburg Medical Seminars International and the Observerships under one name.

The Salzburg Medical Seminars, established in 1993, is a postgraduate medical education program founded by The American Austrian Foundation and physicians from Weill Medical College of Cornell University to bridge the knowledge gap between East and West, North and South.  

Physicians from leading American medical schools and hospitals: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, The Hospital for Special Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Cleveland Clinic, Methodist Hospital as well as leading European centers spend one week in Salzburg to teach (pro bono) English speaking colleagues from countries in transition, who would otherwise not have access to this type of knowledge.

More than 10,000 young physicians from countries in transition (fellows) have attended a seminar, and 1,500 of them have also participated in one-month observerships at Austrian hospitals, where they can observe new treatment protocols and technology and experience sophisticated health care/hospital management.

Fellows return home eager to share their newly acquired knowledge with colleagues, and the multiplier effect has significantly improved health care delivery in many of the targeted countries. Furthermore, fellows continue to have access to their faculty members and colleagues, and consult with them on difficult cases.

Key to the program's success is the opportunity for fellows to return on an ongoing basis, and providing them with a network of faculty members and colleagues, whom they can consult with whenever the need arises. This allows them to access information, without leaving their countries, thus promoting brain gain and preventing brain drain.