Undergraduate medical education in Lebanon

Background: Lebanon, located on the eastern side of the Mediterranean Sea, is a multi-confessional, multi-cultural country with a long history of medical education. One of the first medical schools in the Middle East was established in Beirut, Lebanon's capital, in 1868. Aims: The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the current status of undergraduate medical education in Lebanon. Methods: The descriptive data were collected from the medical schools' institutional website and the analysis was performed by the authors. No statistical analysis was required. Results: Currently, seven medical schools serve a population of 4 million people. Those schools adopt different curricular systems reflected in their admissions, study length, and language of instruction, mainly based on the French or the American model. Conclusion: Lebanon's diversity translates into medical education, with the various schools adopting different systems.