Eva Johansson Backman – Report from European Board of Dermato-Venereology 2015 – 2016
riculum regarding the knowledge and skills that should be acquired by the specialists who are largely responsible for this patient group. The intention is that this curriculum should be incorporated in the specialist training programs on a national level. A proposal on what requirements should be met in order for a clinic to be classified as a centre of excellence for wound healing, both in terms of expertise and also with regard to equipment and facilities, was presented and will be further developed.
Decision concerning the length of specialist training and the official name of the specialty
The EBDV has submitted to the UEMS( for further communication to the European Commission), a document which states that the length of a specialist training program in Dermatovenereology in Europe is 5 years and that the title of the specialty is Dermatology and Venereology( Dermatovenereology)
National delegates
The EBDV wants to see better representation of national delegates at the Board meetings which are held twice annually, as well as increased participation in the work carried out in the various internal working groups. It also wants to ensure that the national organizations get information about the on-going work in the EBDV / UEMS. There are a few countries who have not had a representative attending the meetings, or participating in any internal work for a number of years.
Economy
EBDV has a balanced budget and 2015 ended with a smaller surplus. This was mainly due to slightly lower costs than expected for the meetings during 2015 as well as lower than expected costs for the organization of the specialist exam. The national fee to EBDV will be unchanged in 2016, 3 Euro / member.
There is on-going work to get this document repealed and to prevent the CEN from carrying out future standardizations; that this should be left to the medical profession itself who has the collective expertise to do this. This work has, to a large extent, taken place outside the EBDV. Several countries, in particular Germany, have been active in this process.
EBDV – external work / representation
During the past year the EBDV has, through representation from the board, participated in two UEMS council meetings, in which central work, including the budget and work in different subsections have been presented. There have also been two CESMA( specialist exam) meetings. At these meetings topics regarding the creation of good multiple-choice questions and single best answers have been addressed. There is a desire for uniformity in the construction of questions. During the meetings inspiring examples from specialties that has had a great success in raising interest and participation in the European exam were highlighted, where the exam reflects a new common European curriculum for which wide acceptance among the member states has been reached.
During the EACCME meeting, UEMS Advisory Council for CME-CPD, new criteria for live educations have been discussed and agreed upon. New potential areas for CME accreditations has also been on the agenda. The president of the EBDV also participated at the EDF’ s meeting in Switzerland at the beginning of this year. An excellent report of the meeting, written by Professor Anders Vahlquist, can be found an earlier issue of Forum for Dermatology and Venereology( 1).
For in-depth information on the EBDV and the UEMS there is additional material on their websites( 2, 3) and it is also possible to contact the national EBDV representatives.
European Committee for Standardization( CEN)
In Europe, there is a committee that works on standardization issues, European Committee for Standardization( CEN). Over the past few years this committee has performed work on standardization of different medical procedures, among them aesthetic surgery as well as aesthetic non-surgical procedures. This document regulates competency requirements as well as ethical considerations, the use of medications, anaesthetics, etc. Despite protests from many medical organizations at the national level, as well as organizations at the EU level( the UEMS with subdivisions) this document was approved. A number of people have considered this process non-transparent and feel that there has been inadequate consultation of experts.
Acknowledgement
Ellen Mooney, Reykjavik, Iceland is gratefully acknowledged for her work with proofreading.
References
1. Vahlquist A. Report from the European Dermatology Forum( EDF) Meeting in Zurich on 21 – 23 January 2016. Forum Nord Derm Ven 2016; 21: 68 – 69.
2. Union Europénne des Médecins Spécialistes. https:// www. uems. eu /.
3. European Board of Dermato-Venereology. http:// www. uems-ebdv. org / web /.
106 Meeting Report Forum for Nord Derm Ven 2016, Vol. 21, No. 4