AMSE at the ORPHEUS conference »Lost in Translation«, 10 – 12 March 2016, Cologne / Germany

Summary of the presentation

AMSE is very pleased to have been a partner with the World Federation of Medical Education (WFME) and ORPHEUS in developing the ORPHEUS position paper “Towards Standards for PhD Education in Biomedicine and Health Sciences” into a set of standards agreed by all three organisations.

AMSE endorses the work of ORPHEUS in development of standards for research training in medical schools and faculties, as medicine is based on science and research enables its development in the future.

The vision of AMSE is maintaining excellence and relevance by promoting the quality of education, collaboration and research in basic and clinical sciences, and its translation in clinical application to the relevant needs for the population and the health system. AMSE also fosters communication, collaboration and networking between medical schools, which may increase the quality of all participants.

Several AMSE declarations, available on our website, endorse these objectives:

Berlin consensus paper (2015) declares that the study of Medicine is an academic and scientifically based programme, and the medical schools and affiliated hospitals must guarantee appropriate scientific infrastructure.

Ljubljana declaration (2011) emphasizes the role of the academic clinical staff in teaching, research and innovation in the health care system. Research and (post)graduate education are essential for the quality and development of health care, therefore adequate and protected time for teaching and research must be secured by the employer.

Zagreb declaration (2009) directly endorses the work of Orpheus and declares that the medical school has responsibility in all aspects of postgraduate clinical, specialist and research education

Barcelona declaration (2008) emphasises the role of Medical schools in postgraduate education (specialisation and PhD studies) also in the countries, where postgraduate education is the responsibility of the healthcare system

Lisbon declaration (2007) stresses the importance of the leadership from Medical Schools in relation to teaching strategies and other areas of mutual interest, including research, in affiliated organisations.

Basic requirements for a good PhD programme are:

• competent and interested students
• competent and interested mentors and educators
• appropriate facilities and quality oriented environment on site or in collaboration
• sufficient time
• funding

Learning outcomes are a serious question both for students and teachers. A student should think about these questions before entering a PhD study programme: Why do I want to engage in the PhD study? What are my research interests? How and where can I perform the research I am interested in? What will be the (long term) result of my study?

Are we lost in translation? European Society for Translational Medicine defines translational medicine as an interdisciplinary branch of the biomedical field supported by three main pillars: bench side, bedside and community. This emphasises interdisciplinary approach to research and implementation of the results into practice for the improvement of healthcare. AMSE supports this statement and emphasises the role of collaboration both in undergraduate and postgraduate education. This improves the quality and ensures relevance.

Dušan Šuput, General Secretary of AMSE