Global Requirements In Medical Education

The Board of Directors of the China Medical Board of New York, Inc. , approved a grant on June 9, 1999 to found the IEMI Institute for International Medical Education. It is the Institute’s task to lead the definition of “essential minimum global requirements” for undergraduate programs in medical education. These “essential requirements” should consist of medical knowledge, clinical skills, professional attitudes, behavioral and ethical characteristics that all physicians should have, no matter where they received their training.Global Requirements In Medical Education

The impulses of globalization are becoming increasingly evident in medical education. This seems very logical if one takes into account that medicine is a profession all over the world and that by tradition, research and knowledge in the medical field have crossed the borders between nations. It has been customary for doctors to study their profession and provide their services in different countries; In addition, human creativity requires that globalization includes intellectual and cultural activities. Various multilateral treaties and agreements are opening the door to the possibility of people moving around the world, as well as stimulating the establishment of common educational standards.Global Requirements In Medical Education

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At this moment there are about six million doctors around the world, who provide their services to more than six billion people. These doctors receive their education and training in some 1800 medical schools (faculties) around the world; and although at first sight all the curricula seem similar, in reality there is great variation between their contents. Some attempts have been made, with partial success, to evaluate the processes leading to a medical doctor (MD) degree or its equivalent, but few of those attempts have focused on the results of educational efforts. In reality, there has never been an attempt to define the basic or minimum capacities that a doctor must have when he finishes his undergraduate studies, before entering the stage of post-graduate studies or specialization; Besides, Simultaneously, both health services and the practice of medicine are undergoing profound changes, forced by economic difficulties to finance health care systems. The increasing cost of health interventions and the corresponding cost containment policies can endanger humanism and the values of medicine. Consequently, it is necessary to preserve the goals of equity and social benefit in the face of growing pressures and economic barriers.

In the biomedical sciences, information technology and biotechnology, rapid progress is being made; they pose new ethical, social and legal problems for the medical profession and demand that the balance between Science and Art in Medicine be maintained. An important task for medical education is to prepare future doctors so that they are able to adapt to the conditions of that medical practice in a rapidly changing health care environment. The challenge facing the educational community in medicine is to use globalization as an opportune instrument to improve the quality of medical education and practice. Global Requirements In Medical Education

When defining the essential capabilities that every physician must have, special emphasis must be placed on professionalism, social sciences, health economics, information management and health care systems. This must be done in the context of the social and cultural characteristics of the different regions of the planet. The precise methods and the way of teaching can vary from one school to another, but the required skills must be the same in all. It is clear that the concept of “essential requirements” does not imply the global uniformity of curricula or educational processes in medicine; neither are these essential global requirements a threat to the fundamental principle that medical education must identify specific social and cultural needs, in the context of where the doctor is trained and where he will practice, and respond to those needs. In attempting to meet the “essential minimum global requirements” medical schools will each adopt their own curricular design, but in doing so, they must ensure that their graduates have acquired the basic skills indicated in the “minimum requirements” essentials. ” In short, they must “think globally and act locally.” they must ensure that their graduates have acquired the basic skills indicated in the “minimum essential requirements”. In short, they must “think globally and act locally.” they must ensure that their graduates have acquired the basic skills indicated in the “minimum essential requirements”. In short, they must “think globally and act locally.” Global Requirements In Medical Education