THE Ped. Surg. C.M.E. COMMITTEE
Udo Rolle (Germany)
Continuing Medical Education for Paediatric Surgeons in the European Union
Preamble
In recent years there has been increasing public interest in how the professions govern and regulate themselves, and this interest has extended into the field of continuing education. As in any other profession, also in medicine there is widespread acknowledgement of the need for continuing education for those who have completed formal training and entered into hospital or independent practice. Continuous Medical Education (CME) is one of the most important tools in ongoing development: it helps physicians to maintain and improve their professional competence and skills, to broaden their professional outlook and to keep abreast of relevant developments, thus providing patients with up-to-date high quality healthcare. CME is an ethical and moral obligation, to which any physician is called upon: self-regulation of this type is likely to lead to enhancement of the image of the profession in the eyes of the public, fellow professionals and the European Commission. On the other hand, CME is not only an ethical and moral obligation, but also a right which has to be secured to all doctors, granting them the opportunity to participate in CME activities: it is therefore desirable to create incentives for the medical specialist to undertake this activity ("The system of remuneration of all specialists must contain elements of finance to include their activity in CME. However, whatever system is applied in the member state, the specialist must not be financially disadvantaged and therefore should be compensated for his/her CME activity" - UEMS Charter on CME, 1994).
It is the intention of the UEMS Section of Paediatric Surgery as well as the European Board in Paediatric Surgery that each Paediatric Surgeon will take responsibility for the way in which he or she seeks to fulfil the recommended CME requirements. Surgeons will be responsible for choosing their CME activities in accordance with their needs, learning methods and clinical settings. There is growing emphasis on the need to ensure that participation in such education is documented and results in learning. The Board have adopted a philosophy which focuses primarily on continuing education, but also incorporates a system of identifying and assisting the minority who fail to participate in CME to the minimum level.
In order to encourage cross fertilisation of ideas and harmonisation of CME practice across Europe, the Board considers mandatory a co-ordination of the CME activities among Member and Associate Countries, whether they already have an established CME program or not. The system here presented is designed to ensure uniform standards, while taking into account each country's present organisational structure.
This document sets out a system of CME for Paediatric Surgeons throughout Europe, structured on the basis of the Charter on CME approved by the Management Council of the UEMS since its London Meeting of the 28-29 October 1994, the recommendations set out and accepted by the Advisory Committee on Medical Training in October 1994 as well as taking into account the functions of the European Accreditation Council on CME (EACCME) as defined in the relevant section in the UEMS website.
1. General Rules of CME
2. Participation in CME
3. Provision of CME
4. Approval of CME events
