Bologna Process Followup Workshop 2011

Participant’s short guide to BPFW2011

Istanbul 18-23 July

Dear participant,

We are delighted to have you in this wonderful event, Bologna Process Followup Workshop 2011!

We welcome you in the beautiful city of Istanbul to discuss together on behalf of medical students all over Europe and to make their voice heard.

Bologna Process is a stepping stone in the improvement of educa-tion. However, any attempt towards change and progress and any good idea can go the right way or not. We as students are directly influenced by any change in education, even more so, as future doc-tors we have to realize our education will impact the quality of health care in our countries. Thus we have the responsability to make sure it is going in the right direction. You already made a great step towards that, by joining this workshop.

Togheter we can make the difference!

On behalf of IFMSA and EMSA,Ioana and Suleyman

CONTENT:

Message from hosts .... 2Content ........................ 3What is IFMSA ........... 4What is EMSA ............ 4

Bologna Process Followup Workshops ....... 5MEDINE2 ....................................................... 6Bologna Process ............................................. 8Bologna Process in Medical Education ...... 9

The Bologna Declaration and Medical Education .............. 10European Core Curriculum - the students’ perspective ..... 12

What is IFMSA?

The International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA) is an independent, non-political federation of 68 national associations of medical students. It was founded in 1951 as a result of the post-war wave of friendship spirit among international stu-dents. IFMSA affiliated to the United Nations system, and has since 1969 been recognized by the World Health Organization as theofficial international forum for international medical students.

What is EMSA?

The idea of an organization representing medical students across Europe was born in 1990 during a symposium for medical students from all European countries. In 1991 the European Medical Stu-dents’ Association was founded. EMSA currently has active Faculty Member Organizations in 24 countries throughout geographical Europe. EMSA is proud to have strong student partners and profes-sional partners within Europe as well as outside Europe. EMSA’s ac-tivities have been endorsed by the European Commission in 2005.

Bologna Process Followup Workshops

Since April 2003 IFMSA and EMSA have organised six medical students’ conferences on the implementation of the Bologna directives to medical education.

In summer 2004 IFMSA and EMSA agreed on the Megève paper, the first position pa-per ever on the Bologna Process made by students and also the first in medicine. In summer 2005 a conference on “Quality Assurance” took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, where more than 40 students from 15 countries participated in. Outcome of this workshop was a policy paper on quality improvement in medical education.In 2006, the follow-up conference took place in Bristol (UK) and a consensus outcome-based “Eu-ropean Core Curriculum – the Students’ Perspective” was written. It has been published in the “Medical Teacher” one of the leading international journals in the field of medical education.In 2007, the meeting took place in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and participants were discussing the Bachelor and Master structure for the study of medicine. Consensus points were identified and another policy paper written.

In July 2008 the meeting was heald in Berlin (Germany) and focused on the issue of “International quality labels as a way to improve mobility”.In 2009, IFMSA and EMSA jointly organized a Bologna Pro-cess Workshop in Cordoba (Spain) with the topic “Bologna Process in Medical Education: beyond 2010”

In 2011, you are making the history in Istanbul!

The MEDINE2 Thematic Network in Medical Edu-cation in Europe is build on the work of the MEDINE Network, 2004-2007. The Network, supported by the European Commission Directorate of Education and Culture begins life on 1st October 2009. It has been formed because the education and training of medical doctors to a high standard is critical to the physical health, well-be-ing, productivity and social cohesion of European society. Various

issues must be addressed. Despite facilitative legislation, mobility of medical students and practi-tioners within Europe is limited, despite increasing mobility of citizens. Standards and content of medical education programmes are inconsistent, and the transparency and comparability of quali-fications are limited. This adversely affects equity of access to quality health-care. Application of the Bologna principles to medical education is patchy and variable, leading to further divergence of practice. The network is mainly composed by professionals, faculty representatives and medical educa-tors, in the same time both EMSA and IFMSA have student representatives in it and student opin-ion is welcomed. Throughout this workshop we also aim to gather more opinions that we as stu-dents can forward to MEDINE2 and contribute to their work.

Ninety-three partner institutions represent-ing the breadth and scholarly traditions of European medical education will work to-gether over three years to achieve the goals of MEDINE2.

The work is devided in 10 working packeges (WP), a lot of them overlaping as theme with Bologna Process action lines. The WP are:1.MEDINElingua2.Toolkit to promote openness and mobility in medical education and training in Europe3.Tuning Process for Medical Education4.Tuning 1st cycle degrees in medicine5.Curriculum Trends in Medical Education in Europe in the 21st Century6.Integration of the Bologna Process within Medical Schools in Bologna Countries7.Integration of the Research Component in European Medical Education8.Network management9.Dissemination of MEDINE2 outputs10.Exploitation of MEDINE2 outputs11.Quality Assurance of the Network

Bologna Process

The Bologna Process is the effort to harmonize higher education in Europe. It concerns all fields, and was initiated in 1999 by Ministers of Education. Subsequent meetings were held where addi-tional policies were adopted, and more countries joined the initiative.

Below follows a short summary of the main objectives of the Bologna Process.

The Bologna Declaration of June 1999 established the following aims:1. Adoption of a system of easily readable and comparable degrees2. Adoption of a system essentially based on two main cycles, undergraduate and graduate3. Establishment of a system of credits – such as the ECTS system4. Promotion of mobility by overcoming obstacles to the effective exercise of free movement5. Promotion of European co-operation in quality assurance6. Promotion of the necessary European dimensions in higher education

These objectives are, according to the Declaration, to be attained “within the framework of our in-stitutional competencies and taking full respect of the diversity of cultures, languages, national edu-cation systems and of University autonomy.”

Two subsequent meetings were held where additional points were added:Prague communiqué, May 19th, 2001:7. Integrate life long learning into the overall strategy 8. Higher education institutions and students

9. Promoting the attractiveness of the Eu-ropean Higher Education Area

Berlin communiqué, September 19th, 2003:10. Doctoral studies and the synergy be-tween the EHEA and European Research Area (ERA)11. The social dimension of higher educa-tion, might be seen as an overarching or transversal action line.

During next 3 Ministerial Meetings, Bergen 2005 , London 2007 and Leuven 2009, no new action lines were adopted.

Bologna process in medical education

Bologna process has in the beginning been concurrently excluded from medical education in the process of implementation in the European Higher Education Area. The main controversy has been over the imple-mentation of the Bachler-Master structure and its fesability in medical curricula. While there are still controversies about this ac-tion line, for the other there can be hardly a doubt of the aplicability in medical education and of the importance they require. Even the Ba-Ma system has been succesfully implemented in several Euro-pean countries, like The Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark, Belgium and others. With all the progress and success there are still all over Europe difficulties and doubts regarding the implementation of Bologna Process in medi-cine and discussions are as vivid as ever.

The Bologna Declaration and Medical Education

A Policy Statement from the Medical Students of Europe, Megève, France, 2004

Summary and main points: 1. Adoption of a system of easily readable and comparable degrees. [...] Necesity of the Diploma supplement.

2. Adoption of a system essentially based on two main cycles, undergraduate and graduate [...] The implementation of a two-cycle struc-ture must not be allowed to cement the tradi-tional division between the basic sciences and clinical sciences, as described in the Flexner Report of 1910.Without a European consensus on implement-ing the two-cycle structure in medicine, two degree systems will result, seriously hampering easy readability and mobility.One model for this is described in the idea of a European Core Curriculum in medical edu-cation, as mentioned by the British General Medical Council in 1993 and defined by AMEE Education Guide no 5. [...]

3. Establishment of a system of credits – such as the ECTS system[... ] We require that a European grading system must be researched and evidence-based to determine the most appropriate manner in which to assess medical students. A correct and consistent implementation of ECTS and the grading system is of great importance for mobility and quality of assessment throughout Europe.

4. Promotion of mobilityMobility is desirable on all levels of medical studies, from individual courses or clinical clerkships, as in to-day’s Erasmus program, to entire degrees. The recogni-tion of common guidelines for the content in the de-grees would increase mobility. [...]

5. Promotion of European co-operation in quality as-surance[...] Quality Assurance can be achieved through the establishment of common guidelines for the content of the degrees and an adoption of, for instance, the WFME Global Standards for Quality Improvement. A common European system for accreditation of medical schools would establish and maintain high educational quality and provide a means for comparison between different medical schools.

6. Promotion of the necessary European dimensions in higher educa-tion[...] More focus on language learning would enhance communication in the profession and improve mobility.

7. Integrate life long learning into overall strategyThe healthcare environment is rapidly changing making continuous pro-fessional development essential after graduation. [...] We see the utiliza-tion of modern teaching methods and self-directed learning as setting the foundation for life long learning.

8. Higher education institutions and studentsThe recognition of students as “competent, active and constructive part-ners“ is a step forward in increasing the quality of medical education. We welcome this invitation of the ministers for more active student participa-tion which we hope will be welcomed and implemented at all levels. [...]

9. Promoting the attractiveness of the European Higher Education AreaThrough establishing a common European system for quality assurance and safe-guarding easily readable and comparable degrees, Europe will be more attractive for both European and non-European students.

10. Establish an European research areaIn our knowledge-based society, research is one of the pillars of the mod-ern university. We see the potential benefits of the establishment of a Eu-ropean research area and appreciate its importance in academia.

In conclusion, we strongly wel-come most points of the Bolo-gna process, which encourages flexibility, mobility and quality assurance. We are concerned about the negative implications of the two-cycle structure on medical education. However, not implementing the two-cycle structure should not be an ex-cuse not to implement the rest of the Bologna process. We em-phasise the importance of com-mon European guidelines for the content of medical degrees. The integration of the basic sci-ences and clinical worlds from day one is paramount to our success as future physicians. We look forward to active par-ticipation in Europe’s drive to-wards the highest quality medi-cal education possible.

European Core Curriculum the Students’ Perspective

A Policy Statement from the Medical Students of Eu-rope, Bristol, UK, 2006

SummaryMedical Students of Europe have written an out-come-based core curriculum identifying 9 domains with 76 learning outcomes for graduates of European medical schools. Final document has over 40 pages.IntroductionOver the last few years, in innovative medical edu-cation, focus has shifted from acquisition of knowl-edge towards the achievement of concrete learning outcomes. Society and stakeholders are now more interested in the final product of the educational programme rather than the processes used to reach them. More than 40 medical students’ representatives from 15 European countries met for the 5th IFMSA/EMSA Bologna follow-up conference in Bristol (UK) to discuss and write an outcome-based “European Core Curriculum from the Students’ Perspective”.The core curriculum also includes a preamble ex-plaining the goals and objectives of IFMSA/EMSA in writing the core curriculum.

ExplanationParticipants agreed on the demand for a common outcome-based “European Core Curriculum from the Students’ Perspective”. They have identified 9 domains with 76 learning outcomes to be covered in the course of medicine in medical schools of Europe.The domains are:• Clinicalskills• Communication• Criticalthinking• Healthinsociety• Life-longlearning• Professionalism–attitudes,responsibilities,andself-development• Teaching• Teamwork• Theoreticalknowledge.

The core curriculum will serve medical students all over Europe as a framework to be adjusted for spe-cific national and local needs. It serves as a common basis aiming to improve the quality of education, healthcare and mobility, therefore furthering the es-tablishment of a European Higher Education Area.

The sample policy statements resumed here are only a few of the relevant documents but we hope they can provide you with a good perspective on the work done so far. We will share and discuss with you all the rele-vant documentation during the workshop and we will identify together the challenges we still face and what we should focus on as topic of our particular interest.

Other documents relevant to our workshop are:-Quality Assurance in Medical Schools-World Health care students BA-MA Statement of Beliefs-WHO/WFME Guidelines for Accreditation of Basic Medical Education-The Bachelor and Master structure in Medicine-Policy Statement on the Timescale for Implementation of the Bologna Process-Undergraduate Mobility in Medical Education in the European Higher Education Area

The exact agenda of the workshop will be sent to you before the start of the workshop along with several other materials.

Editor’s note:

This document is meant for internal use participants to Bologna Process Followup Workshop 2011, Istanbul.

Editor - Ioana GoganauLayout - Ioana Goganau

Contact: scomed@ifmsa.org