Fostering the highest educational standards in Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine: The European PRM board strategy for ensuring overall quality of rehabilitation education and care
Nikolaos Barotsis, Franco Franchignoni, Rolf Frischknecht, Alvydas Juocevicius, Angela McNamara, Xanthi Michail, Guy Vanderstraeten, Jean-Michel Viton, Maria Gabriella Ceravolo
Rehabilitation department, Patras University Hospital, Rion, Greece
DOI: 10.2340/16501977-2620
Abstract
The harmonization of staff education is a key element for ensuring the highest standard of rehabilitation care across Europe. With this aim, the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS) has created a Common Training Framework, which consists of a common set of knowledge, skills and competencies for postgraduate medical training. As a body linked to the Physical and Rehabilitation (PRM) Section of the UEMS, the European PRM Board is committed to promoting the harmonization of PRM physicians qualifications. The European PRM Board accomplishes this mission, not only by determining the theoretical knowledge necessary for the practice of the PRM specialty, and the core competencies (training outcomes) to be achieved at the end of training, but also by ascertaining that a standard level of education is achieved and maintained by PRM physicians, through a medically driven system of certification. This paper provides an overview of the methodology and outcomes of the European PRM Board examination, while showing how the approach to PRM education should be considered as a reference point by scientific societies, higher education institutions, health policymakers, patients associations, and all the other bodies caring for high-quality rehabilitation provision to disabled people, at the national and European level.
Lay Abstract
The European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS) has created a Common Training Framework, which consists of a set of knowledge, skills and competencies for postgraduate medical training. As a body linked to the Physical and Rehabilitation (PRM) Section of the UEMS, the European PRM Board is committed to promoting the harmonization of PRM physicians qualifications. It accomplishes this mission by determining the theoretical knowledge necessary for the practice of the PRM specialty and the core competencies, but also by ascertaining that a standard level of education is achieved and maintained by PRM physicians, through a medically driven system of certification. This paper presents the methodology and outcomes of the European PRM Board examination, while showing how this approach to PRM education should be considered as a reference point at the national and European level.
Comments
Dr Pavels Mustafins
Rehabilitation centre Vikersund Bad
Long needed document/process. As a personal/anecdotal experience through the 30+ years of studying and work as a physician/physician specialist in FRM (and sports medicine), with the practical and academic experience from the 5 European countries (four of them are currently framed as the EØS countries), I would reflect on the MAJOR VARIATIONS in the field. Educational curriculum, continuous education, certification, clinical approaches, and structures – everything was DIFFERENT. I also have a colleague (can appoint as a ‘control group’), who went the same international way as a physician in FRM, in addition to the previous studies/work as a fysio (being educated in the other European country, in addition to those 5 pointed over). The colleague has experienced the DIFFERENT judgments in the SAME countries and with the SAME pending professional papers being applied. Interstate variation, but also intrastate variation. Different languages, economical grounds, personalities in charge and TRADITIONS.
The general curriculum in FMR would help to spent more time on the patient and academic pointed work, and less to the medical bureaucracy (have spent myself some thousands of hours on the last).
2019-12-16 05:03:35
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