Medical Education In Europe - Thematic Network on Medical Education (MEDINE)
From SCOME Wiki
Medical Education In Europe - Thematic Network on Medical Education
The Thematic Network on Medical Education in Europe (MEDINE) addresses educational, institutional and quality issues in European medical education within the framework of European initiatives
Project
Five Taskforces undertake principle activities
- Agree core competences/learning outcomes for medical education in Europe, using methodology of the Tuning project
- Develop a framework for international recognition of qualifications, in the context of medical education and links with other professions
- Develop quality assurance standards for the process of medical education for application in Europe
- Enhance the transparency and public understanding of medical education - undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing - and its outcomes, within and outside Europe
- Explore and develop links between medical education and research
These activities cover the European initiatives of:
- European Credit Transfer System (ECTS)
- The Bologna Declaration
- Diploma supplement
- The Tuning Project
In addition to previous work by the European Commission, Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE), Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME) and World Federation for Medical Education (WFME).
The Tuning Taskforce
The Tuning Taskforce is using the Tuning methodology to define core competencies and learning outcomes for medical education. These should be achieved by European medical undergraduates thereby encouraging European convergence of medical education outcomes.
The Tuning methodology has already been used by other disciplines such as nursing, dentistry and veterinary sciences. Drawing from the outcomes of these projects, the Tuning project will also incorporate the validation and assessment of the competencies that are determined.
The Tuning taskforce is lead by Professor Allan Cumming of Edinburgh University, UK
A survey has been undertaken to gather the opinions of those interested in medical education for what are the key competencies that should be achieved by a medical undergraduate. According to the tuning methodology, this includes generic competencies and subject-specific competencies.
The Tuning methodology does not require the opinions of students or patients to be gained. The taskforce is however gaining the opinions of these stakeholders. The survey has been available online in English, German, and French. The survey was open from March to October 2006, and during this time more than a thousand of responses were obtained, from almost all European member states (except for Estonia, Luxembourg and Cyprus).
The results of the Tuning Taskforce were finally presented during the AMEE Conference'08 in Prague, and can be found in http://www.tuning-medicine.com/
Quality Assurance Standards Task Force
This task force aims to improve and enhance the overall standards of medical education throughout Europe. This is achieved by: dissemination of good practice, sharing of ideas and quality assurance programmes. Encorporated will be the application of the WFME global standards to a European base in the context of the Bologna Declaration establishing the minimum requirements for accreditation within Europe.
The aim is to produce a set of quality standards for:
- Basic Medical Training
- Postgraduate Medical Training
- Continuing Medical Education (CME)
- Institutional Self-Evaluation
- Accreditation of undergraduate medical education programmes
The Task force is lead by WFME and ASME.
Final product of this task force were European specifications to the WFME Global Standards programme, which you can find below.
International Recognition of Qualifications
Aims:
- To implement the use of the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS)/Diploma Supplement (DS) as a prerequisite to develop a framework for international recognition of medical qualifications
- To address the issue of transfer between medicine and allied healthcare qualifications e.g. dentistry
- Explore the use of ECTS/DS at post-graduate level and in continuing medical education (CME)
Taskforce is lead by Karel Van Liempt at the University of Antwerp.
Transparency and Public Understanding of Medical Education
Aims:
- To improve the transparency, clarity and public understanding of medical education and its outcomes
- Hold workshops on the Bologna Process and the use of ECTS to non-European countries
- Demystify medical education at different levels
This taskforce has developed MedEdCentral, a wiki-based free online resource providing information about medical education.
Taskforce leader: AMEE
Links between Medical Education and Research Task force
Aims:
- Examine the relationships between medical education and research
- Examine the importance of outcomes related to the critical appraisal and use of evidence, determining whether this is a core competency required by medical undergraduates
- Promote the growth of collaborative research and development projects involving medical undergraduates
Task force leader: Veronica Komives at the University of Budapest
