The IMC rating is not the same as the IR at all - it's purpose is to allow you to get down out of the clag safely, within 1800 m vis, off the top of my head. You could also do the Enroute IR which allows you to do enroute stuff without being allowed to come down (!), but you must take off and land under VFR in VMC - the two complement each other nicely. A little more training will get you the full IR in a less formal manner.
The M/E would be a good next step.