The internists will actively participate in a more focused teaching model into clinical practice, based on the teacher student relationship and stimulating self study.

The Spanish society of internal medicine (SEMI) organizes in Madrid I meeting of internal medicine and University, attended by about 100 internists with dedication teacher.

– to achieve this objective, within the framework of the European area of higher education, requires a more specific definition of clinical competencies that students should acquire

– also this meeting allows to assess the role that performs internal medicine both in the teaching of undergraduate, postgraduate and MIRon the basis of the idea that this is a specialty that it teaches and provides a unified view of patient

-La SEMI presented at this meeting the results of a survey that reflects that of the subject of General pathology in different Spanish universities, instruction by internists in a very uneven manner, in such a way that there is not a homogeneous programme applicable to all faculties

-the Dr. Pedro Conthe, President of the Spanish society of internal medicine, will preside over the ceremony along with the Deans of the Faculty of Medicine of the Autonomous University of Madrid and Complutense University of Madrid

Madrid, April 2010.- the current situationof great change in university teaching, it is necessary to occurring meetings to specialists involved in common doubts and put new proposals on the influence of the Bologna process in the teaching activities carried out in Spanish universities. In this sense, the Spanish society of internal medicine (SEMI), which maintains a strong commitment for the development of activities to promote continuous improvement in the training of specialists, today organizes the I meeting of internal medicine and University, at the headquarters of the College of physicians of Madrid.

The President of the Spanish society of internal medicine, Dr. Pedro Conthe, will preside over the ceremony along with the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of the Autonomous University of Madrid, Prof. José a. Rodriguez Montes, and the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of the Complutense University of Madrid, Prof. Angel Nogales Espert. For Dr. Conthe, it is a new initiative of the SEMI expects to help reflect the weight of internal medicine for the comprehensive training of future physicians.

And as Dr. Juan Antonio Vargas Nuñez, Member of the Organizing Committee and Professor Titular of the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, the I meeting of internal medicine and University allows us to assess the role that performs internal medicine both in the teaching of undergraduate, postgraduate and MIR, on the basis of the idea that our specialty is that taught to see the patient as a single whole and inclusive ”.

In order to achieve this goal, at the meeting, which brings together nearly 100 internists concerns with teaching responsibilities among teachers staff and partners, will cover topics such as the European space of higher education and its impact on the career of medicine, the role of the internist in the teaching of undergraduate, graduate, and MIR and research in internal medicine services, among others ”, says Dr. Vargas.

Modification of the current education system

The importance of this meeting is that part of the belief that the University hospital is responsible for the training of doctors, and that this is only possible to work closely with the patient. In this sense, one of the essential objectives to be achieved is the modification of the current education system, focusing more towards clinical practice with an education based on teacher-student relationship. This is due to consider the internist, by their general training, the most appropriate professional to carry out this type of teaching methodology, trying to offer a global and unitary training, both at the undergraduate, in MIR, favouring in this way the continuity in the training and the graduate ”, indicates Dr. Vargas.

Influence of the European space of higher education in the teaching of medicine

One of the themes that focused the attention of the meeting I of internal medicine and University is the European space of higher education, which constitutes a complex and ambitious plan that have been put in place different European countries, in order to promote convergence, in education, European.
And is that its main impact is the desired modification of the model of teaching, more focused on clinical practice, with a more active involvement of students in their self-study. To this end, a more specific definition of clinical competencies that students should acquire, considering that we are in a continuous education started in the University education of undergraduate, continues with the MIR and continues for professional development is required ”, points out Dr. Vargas.

Taking into account one of the aspects mentioned above, this specialist indicates that is essential that the curricula of undergraduate will result a few doctors with a high level of competence that allows them to start the post-graduada formation in a better position. In this context, the specialty of internal medicine should play a leading role, taking care that the first requirement we have is the train physicians in clinical base with a good training in general aspects of medicine ”, concludes Dr. Vargas.

General pathology teaching in Spain

The importance of the teaching of the subject of General pathology is due to that it is a branch of medicine which studies diseases and changes in the body, essential subject, taking into account the unitary vision that the internist provides in its attention to the patient.

For this reason, the Spanish society of internal medicine (SEMI) has carried out an investigation on this matter, with the collaboration of the different Spanish universities which offered medical career. However, its results show that despite the importance of this subject, its in the different Spanish universities instruction very different way, so that there is not a homogeneous programme applicable to all faculties.

In this sense, as points out Dr. Jordi Casademont, Secretary of the SEMI, over the past years, the subject of General pathology has varied considerably and is now changing. Some observations drawn from this research is that the number of European (ECTS credits, equivalent to 25 hours of dedication of the student, including hours, authorized work, study, seminars, etc.), required to overcome the subject is very diverse in different regions of Spain. Also notable are the differences detected in the documentation used to teach her and the name that the subject, depending on the University of to be. Thus, notes that, for example at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, the subject receives the title of ‘ pathophysiology and clinical semiology ’, at the University of Granada, ‘ Bases of internal medicine I and II ’, at the University of Cádiz, ‘ introduction to internal medicine and clinical teaching ’, and at the University of Salamanca, ‘ foundations of clinical medicine: Pathophysiology and semiology. practical protected ’, among others ”.

Dr. Casademont concludes that sometimes arrives, even, to vary the curricular year instruction ”.