3. Provision of CME
3.1. Role of the European Board in Paediatric Surgery
The Board will facilitate the development of educational programmes in conjunction with the European Union of Paediatric Surgical Associations (EUPSA), the National Associations of Paediatric Surgeons and other National Bodies responsible for maintaining standards of care in Paediatric Surgery in that country. It will act as a promoter and facilitator of CME in Europe and will encourage the Specialist Paediatric Surgical Societies in each country to establish and further CME on a regular basis. It will play a part in setting the standards and help to monitor the quality of CME events. It will also link the National Authorities designated for CME planning with the European Accreditation Council on CME, thus improving CME exchanges between European countries.
The Board will also be responsible for recording the CME activity of Paediatric Surgeons throughout Europe: this will include the continuous updating of the list of Paediatric Surgeons whose CME credits meet the minimum agreed standard and whose name can continue to be pointed out in the European Board’s Register of Paediatric Surgeons.
3.2. Role of the National Associations of Paediatric Surgeons (Associations)
The Associations will provide opportunities for CME and assess the quality of educational provision in the relevant Country. It will advise locally on the requirements for and look for omissions in the provision of CME. The Associations are the appropriate body to continue to develop and provide CME through national conferences, which they can monitor and evaluate, and through specialist literature, which may incorporate self-assessments. As part of their role in assessing the quality of educational provision, the Associations will make recommendations to the Board for the approval of external meetings, courses and distance learning programmes. The Associations will plan provision of CME in conjunction with the Board, ensuring geographical availability. They will offer advice to any Paediatric Surgeon who is having difficulty in achieving the minimum number of credits.
3.3. Role of the Hospital Surgical Units and Postgraduate Centres
The hospital-based CME programme will continue to be an important and significant part of an individual surgeon's CME. It is also recognised that valuable resources for independent study are available in hospital libraries and it is hoped that the formalisation of CME will encourage the further development of audio, video, and computer-based CME material.
3.4. Other providers of CME
Other providers of CME may include healthcare companies and specialist medical education agencies such as those who already develop CME meetings, courses and printed material. For general professional development, providers may include universities, management consultants and other professional companies. It is hoped that these various providers will increase the availability of CME courses, but all will require approval (§4.1.1).
