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nV o l u m e I
nI s s u e 1
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St a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e o n Me d i c a l Ed u c a t i o n Ne w s l e t t e r
International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations - IFMSA

www.ifmsa.org
ifmsa-scome@yahoogroups.com

A r ticle O f T he M onth : I m p r o v i n g f u t u r e p h y s i c i a n s ’ e d u c at i o n
It’s only a few years in our lives.
Just a bunch of hours, almost
nothing if compared to the
overall time we will spend before
our patients during our whole
professional career. But these few
hours that we spend in medical
school determine the kind of
doctors we will be for the rest of
take the extra effort to acquire the
competences necessary to assess
the quality of the education we
receive and to propose, or even
implement ourselves, ways to
improve it.
There has been, traditionally, a
split between students working
About the author
I’m a 5th year medical student trying to
prove the world that both IFMSA heavy
involvement and medical studies can be
carried out at the same time :) I started
in IFMSA only 3 years ago, as a LOME
in my med school, and I’m positive sure
that what I’ve learnt in IFMSA these
years is going to come in very handy in
my future life,whenever working with
a group of people, in my job as a physi-
can....

our lives. That is why medical in project-oriented medical

education is essential for us,
future physicians, and, specially,
for our patients. And that is the
reason why we care so much
about it.
But… are students important
in the improvement of medical
education?
There is no other group that
could spend as many hours as
we do in lectures, rotations,
seminars, etc. Therefore, there
is no other group that could
constitute a better evaluation
body for undergraduate medical
education… if we are willing to
education and those working
in politically-oriented medical
education. This gap loses its
meaning when we realise that immediate effect, while changes in
policy and curricula take longer.
both are ways of getting to the
same goal, and that none of them
is complete without the other.
Daniel Rodriguez Muńoz
Improvement of medical Director on Medical Education 2007/08
education is not possible without
International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations
analysing curricula, pointing out (IFMSA)
its flaws and proposing ways to
correct them. But also, many
times, the best way to prove
that a certain competence can
be evaluated or that a certain
program can be implemented
is to do it. Projects also have an

W hat ’s inside :
page one: I m p r o v i n g F u t u r e P h y s i c a n s ’ E d u c at i o n
page two: Curriculum Design # 1
page five: Da i s y P r o j e c t - M a r g a r i ta
page eight: Wh at ’s u p i n t h e R e g i o n s

Medical E ducation :
Medcial education :
The curriculum
represents the
expression of
educational ideas in
practice’, saying it in
words: the curriculum
answers the questions
of what to teach and
how to teach it.
Curriculum and
curriculum design
There are many definitions of
curriculum as well as many
views how curricula should
be developed and structured.
As Prideaux says, ‘ The
curriculum represents the
expression of educational ideas
in practice’, saying it in words:
the curriculum answers the
questions of what to teach and
how to teach it.
There are no scientifically-
Curriculum Design #1
Curriculum Design
proved, evidence-based
approaches to curriculum
design. There are many
curriculum models and its
selection is largely based on
ideological, political, social and
managerial imperatives rather
than on research evidence. So
there is no ‘universal and best’
template of curriculum design.
Wisely and good constructed
curricula should involve in its
design specialists from many
fields – both clinical and non-
clinical, as well as learners and
teachers, managers, patients.
It has two unchangeable
components: the structure
and the content. The first
one consists of teaching and
learning strategies, assessment
and evaluation processes.
Once again quoting Prideaux1
‘the process of defining and
organizing the components
of curriculum into a logical
About the author
I’m fifth year medical student at Medical
University of Silesia in Poland.I began my
work in IFMSA 3 years ago and from the
begining I was actively invloved in SCOME.
I was trying to improve medical education
on local and nationallevel, and finally on an
international field, as Regional Assistant for
Europe. When not otherwise busy, I indulge
in sport,travels and scientific work.
pattern is known as curriculum
design’.
How it all started
It all started in the mid-20th
century when Ralph Tyler
published his work from, which
the ‘objectives model’ arose –
it was/is based on the purposes
and their statements were/are
called objectives. Tyler’s paper
thoroughly described how
objectives should be framed
and described. This objective-
based curriculum model was
teacher-centered and didn’t
focus on learner’s activity.
The ‘objectives model’ evolved
an in 1961 there was an
idea to combine objectives
and experiences, so that the
curriculum would partly meet
the health needs of society.
Medical E ducation :
Finally in 1972 Simpson
suggested that objectives
should be described more
precisely, with the use of
appropriate verbs – so called
‘behavioral objectives’. It
was a very important step,
because defined objectives are
the foundation of the other
elements of the curriculum
(mainly teaching and learning
strategies) and emphasize what
the student and the community
require. It was the beginning
of student-centered approach,
which change the focus and
emphasize the importance of
students achievement rather
than teachers activity. Also the
development of assessment
methods starts from here –
curricula were/are used as the
base of assessment. The general
approach was not anymore ‘this
has to be taught’, but ‘this is
what the student must be able
to do’, and because of that, the
professor must do this or that.
In 1975 Mager tried to describe
objectives in more measurable
terms – so called ‘instructional
objectives’. That change focuses
on student’s achievements
and generates a whole new set
of assessment and evaluation
processes (the last two parts
of curriculum). This was the
beginning of outcomes-based
curriculum.
In the eighties there was a trend
to developing teaching methods
which would involve students
more actively in the learning
process - this was the beginning
of the development of innovate
teaching approaches. The only
Curriculum Design
problem was how to structure
the curriculum and integrate
basic and clinical sciences to
make the learning process more
appropriate to clinical practice.
From this perspective, we
can see that the process of
curriculum design was
developing from teacher-
centered to student-centered
with a focus on outcomes,
integration and recognition of
the societal needs, and of course
good preparation of the student
for the future practice. Some of
the theories described above are
still alive; a good example of it
is Tyler’s work. He developed
the ‘objective model of four
important questions’, which
every process of curriculum
design must answer:
1.What educational purposes
should the institution seek to
attain ?
2.What educationalexperiences
are likely to attain the
purposes?
3.How can these educational finding relationships between
experiences be organized
effectively?
4.How can we determine
whether these purposes are
being attained?
Nowadays modern curricula are
competence-based, which are
student-centered and put the
spotlight on the skills, behavior
and knowledge that the learner
should display by the end of
program and are more directed
to learner, teacher, institution
and society.
Learning theories
There is strong correlation
between learning theories
and curricula models. This
symbiotic relationship was
evolving and developing.
While one learning theory
was in its prime, so was the
corresponding curricula model
(eg. objective-based curriculum
and behavioral theory).
Our knowledge of approaches
to learning, learning styles,
effective group work is very
wide and many innovate
theories have been published
recently. In this article we
don’t have enough space to
report and describe all learning
theories and only few, which
have a strong influence will be
emphasized.
Before explaining learning
theories we should say a few
words about deep- and surface-
level learning approaches.
The first one actively involves
students into teaching process,
promotes students’ thinking,
different information by
constructive, logical argument
and a system of questions and
answers. The latter takes a
passive approach, where the
learner is more focused on text
books and self-directed learning
to pass exams. Of course these
two different approaches have
diverse implications. Deep-
level strategy is more related
to the clinical experience
gained by medical students.
Together with student-
centered approach methods it
Medical E ducation :
is a powerful technique, which
is implemented in competence-
based curricula today.
Some authors suggest that there
are no learning styles at all,
there are different personalities.
Many arguments support
this presumption – we have
71 different and competing
learning styles theories, many of
which contradict each other; we
don’t have evidence that learning
styles actually exist.
Steps in curriculum
design
Now let’s try to summarize
everything said above and list the
steps and options in curriculum
design. It’s not an easy task,
because once again - there are
many approaches to curriculum
design. Theoretically speaking
we can point out two models of
curriculum design – prescriptive
and descriptive.
The first one is based on
outcomes as the most important
factor, this models start from
desired outcomes through
content, teaching and learning
strategies, assessment process
and finally evaluation.
The descriptive models are
mainly represented by ‘situational
model’ – described by Malcolm
Skillbeck in 1976 - which
main important component is
situational analysis. This analysis
consists of external and internal
factors and should (although not
necessarily) be undertaken at
the first place during curriculum
design. It could also start form
the review of content or teaching
Curriculum Design
and learning methods as well.
That’s why this model is very
flexible and depends mainly on
the demands and/or context
of the curriculum. All the
elements of curriculum design
in descriptive model are linked.
“An understanding heart is everything
But it’s not as easy as it seemed
to be and often the organization in a teacher, and cannot be esteemed
of curriculum design has to highly enough. One looks back with
be changed to fit the needs
appreciation to the brilliant teachers,
and to be more convenient
to implement and monitor. but with gratitude to those who
So what’s the universal path touched our human feeling. The
‘from ideas to evaluation’ in
curriculum design. One very curriculum is so much necessary raw
good model proposed by Janet material, but warmth is the vital
Grant include following steps
element for the growing plant”
in curriculum design:
Carl Jung
(1) character of the course, (2)
statement of overall purpose
of the curriculum, (3)specific
intended achievements, (4)
curriculum organization, (5)
educational experiences, (6)
curriculum evaluation plan.
In the second part of the
article, which you will find in
next issues of our SCOME “In true education, anything that
Newsletter, we will discuss each comes to our hand is as good as a book:
of these steps with its elements
the prank of a page- boy, the blunder
thoroughly.
of a servant, a bit of table talk - they
Blazej Trela are all part of the curriculum”
Regional co-Assistant for Europe 2007/08 Michel de Montaigne
Standing Committee on Medical Education
International Federation of Medical Students’
Associations (IFMSA)
 Projects : Da i s y P r o j e c t - M a r g a r i ta
About the authors

Myrsini Lemonaki
NOME HelMSIC (Greece) 2007-8
In SCOME since: 2006
Last meeting attended: AMEE 2007 –Trondheim

To find her travel to: Thessaloniki- Greece

Nikos Davaris
SCOME Regional co-Assistant for Europe 2007-8
In SCOME since: 2005
Last meeting attended: EuRegMe 2008- Brijuni

To find him travel to: Aachen- Germany

Introduction
“Daisy project – topics being discussed during skills and in the same time
Margarita” is a the sessions are: patient- they are exposed in personal
pilot educational doctor communication, ways contacts with patients, relatives
community-based of dealing with uncooperative and co-workers.
project which is patients , announcement of
proposed on a voluntary bad news etc. “Medicine in Community”
basis to medical gives the opportunity
students and takes “Health Education to students to get to know
place in cooperation Intervention in Secondary with Primary Health Care
with International Schools” is the oldest of the and preventive medicine.
Association of Health peripheral activities. The In cooperation with general
Policy (IAHP). medical students are trained practitioners who act as trainers,
throughout the year on health the students familiarize with
As it is implied by the project’s the role of doctor as advisor and
intervention applications,
name, it is comprised by a medical information source for
concerning topics such as
central activity (“core”) which the community.
STD, AIDS, contraception and
is attended by all participants
general public health issues.
and 4 peripheral activities “Research in Social
which are optional according “Nurse Aid” is one of the Medicine” is the last of the
to the students’ preference. most popular of the peripheral peripheral activities of the
activities. The students are “Daisy Project – Margarita”.
“Training in communication It enables students to train and
working as aids of previously
skills” is the project’s core. practice on research techniques,
trained and informed nurses
All participants attend the by participating also in other
following the workload of the
weekly sessions which are current research projects.
day and the ward they are
coordinated by a professional
allocated to. Thus, they are
psychologist, specialized in the
trained in nursing and clinical
field of health. Some of the
 Projects : Da i s y P r o j e c t - M a r g a r i ta
Methods,Outcome & Our Experience
Methods
1.In order to achieve its goals,
the “Daisy Project – Margarita”
focuses on 3 main principles,
promoted by IAHP:
-Treatment of the patient as participate in the program.
psychosocial entity
-Research and evaluation
through development of
systematic research thinking
-Interaction and inter- and the application of
professional coperation
2.The “Daisy Project –
Margarita” covers a very wide
range of activities and skills
that medical students should
possess, which leads to the
division of the project in sub-
activities. Each sub-activity
comes as a complement to
the different fields of medical
education and public health
where deficiencies are found, as
mentioned above.
3.Communication skills are
essential for every peripheral
activity and thus “Training
in communication skills”
activity is the “core” of the
project. The participation in
the core is therefore obligatory
for everyone attending the
program. In the peripheral
activities medical students
apply the communication skills
and techniques they gain in
the communication groups,
whereas the experiences
acquired during the peripheral
activities are used as feedback
in the communication group
sessions.
4.Flexibility between peripheral
activities: after taking part
in one peripheral activity, give their permission for the
students are encouraged to take realization of the program.
full advantage of the project’s
2.Get in touch with the
potentials by participating in
university, the professors and
another activity.
all involved health professionals
in order to ensure their will to
The ExpectedOutcome
3. Work for the publicity of
1.The exposure of medical the project by making posters,
students to the real working leaflets, announcements
conditions in the field of through the mailing lists and
community-based medicine the project’s website.
theoretical knowledge in order 4.Make all the necessary
to deal with public health arrangements in order to
problems organize the meetings and
create the weekly schedule.
2.The increase of awareness
and the development of skills 5. Be constantly the contact
concerning the communication link between the students, the
with the patients and their involved health professionals
relatives and the approach of and IAHP.
the patient as psychosocial
6.Buy and distribute any
entity by medical students
necessary material to
3.The recognition of the participants.
doctor’s role as health
7.Maintain and administrate
professional towards the
the project’s website and
direction of disease prevention
database.
and the promotion of health,
as science researcher and 8.Solve any problem that may
as active citizen with social take place.
responsibility
9.Provide the participants with
4.The development of critical certificates of attendance .
scientific spirit within the
framework of inter-professional
cooperation
Our Experience
The organizing committee of
the project has to:
1.Make some contacts with all
the involved authorities (High
Schools, Hospitals, Primary
Health Care Centers), so as to
Daisy Project - Margarita

5components of Daisy Project
M a r g a r i t a
Evaluation

1
During the introductory meeting, all
participants (regardless the activity of the Training in communication
project they attend) fill out a questionnaire
concerning their expectations from the project. skills
After the end of the project (in May) all participants fill out the

2
same questionnaire, which is used to notice the changes in their
attitudes relevant to the aims of the project.
Health Education
Furthermore, according to the activity each participant has Intervention in Secondary
attended, there is a different evaluation form, which is focused
on the aims of the activity and the way it was organized. This Schools
form contains the main clinical and/or communication skills

3
that the students were expected to acquire during the program.
There is also an open part of the evaluation form aiming to
collect qualitatively the perceptions, feedback and suggestions of
the participants. Nurse Aid
Last but not least, the whole project is constantly
evaluated by external observers, who are approved

4
by the scientific coordinator of the project,
Dr Alexis Benos, President of IAHP.

Medicine in Community
Fo l l ow - u p
Daisy Project Activities are recognized as elective lessons in the
Curriculum of the Medical School of Aristotle University of

5
Thessaloniki, organized by HelMSIC and IAHP.
Myrsini Lemonaki
NOME HelMSIC (Greece) 2007-8
Research in Social Medicine
Nikos Davaris
SCOME Regional co-Assistant for Europe 2007-8
 W hat ’s Up I n T he R egions : Bologna Process Workshop
what ’s up in the regions :
The purpose of the
Bologna process is to
create the European
Higher Education Area
(EHEA) by harmonising
academic degree
standards and quality
assurance standards
throughout Europe
for each faculty and its
development.
Since 2003, the International
Federation of Medical Students’
Associations (IFMSA) and the
European Medical Students’
Association (EMSA) have
jointly organised workshops
dedicated to the study of the
development of the Bologna
Process in the European Higher
Education Area.
During these workshops,
both organisations have tried
to develop statements to
representstudents’ views and
perspectives, and to influence
European policy-makers and
other relevant stakeholders in
the process of development and
Bologna Process Workshop
implementation of the Bologna
Process.
These workshops take place
annually in different cities
in Europe. Each year we aim
to analyse one of the most
important topics that are being
discussed within European
institutions regarding the
Bologna Process.
Berlin invites you
This year the IFMSA will
be organising the Bologna
Process follow-up Workshop
at the“University Charité”, in
Berlin, with the cooperation of
the faculty and students’ body
of Berlin. The event will take
place from 3rd to 7th of July.
Working time will be from July
3rd (afternoon) until July 7th
(morning) both included.
Mobility, my friend
This year’s topic: “Increasing
undergraduate mobility by
establishing international
quality labels”
We believe that, for medical
students, the possibility to
carry out part of their studies
in other countries can have a
highly positive impact on their
skills, their range of knowledge
and their attitudes towards
medical profession. We also
see mobility of students as
an opportunity for academic
institutions to develop,
especially if the institution
allows and encourages
students’participation in
curriculum development.
Why to participate ?
The Bologna Process follow-
up Workshops are one of the
most important SCOME
events in Europe. It gathers
all people from the continent
interested in medical education
development.
The Bologna Process follow-
up Workshop also gathers the
W hat ’s Up I n T he R egions : Bologna Process Workshop
perspective of many important
medical education experts
working in many influential
medical education institutions
and networks, such as the
international Association for
Medical Education (AMEE),
the WorldFederation for
Medical Education (WFME)
or the Thematic Network on
Medical Education in Europe
(MEDINE).
The Bologna Process follow-
up Workshops are not only
lectures, debates, Small
Working Groups, but also
great opportunity to meet new
people and discover the beauty
of Berlin and its nightlife.
... and how to register ?
Each country within the
Bologna area will be given 3
registration spots, initially,
that could be increased after
the early registration period hesitate to ask for help at:
closes if there are any spots still scomed@ifmsa.org.
vacant.
Each country will have a “head
of delegation”, that must
be confirmed by the NMO Organising Committee and the
Presidentor the NOME to SCOME-Europe Team.
the organising committee.
The head of delegation must
confirm the registrationof any
other member from his/her
country.
The early registration fee is 150
euros (Closes on May 30th,
2008), and the late registration
fee is 200 euros (Closes on June
2nd, 2008).
So, if you want to participate
just contact your NOME or
NMO President.
If you have any problem in
contacting or communicating
with the NMO President of
the NOME of your country’s
IFMSA NMO, please don’t
 W hat ’s Up I n T he R egions : 5th European Regional Meeting of IFMSA

W hat ’s Up I n T he R egions :5 th E uropean R egional Meeting of IFMSA

“T he K nights of the R ound Table meeting in B rijuni island ”
Students from all held during EuRegMe gave knowledge, experience and
around Europe met us and more than 20 country ideas for the future of medical
between the 10th and representatives from 16 education in Europe.
13th of April 2008 in countries (Austria, Bosnia and
Brijuni- Croatia for Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech The place was for sure different
the 5th European Republic, France, Greece, Italy, from the usual ones, a room
Regional Meeting of Netherlands, Norway, Poland, with a big round table that
IFMSA. Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, reminded to some of us the
Spain, Switzerland and UK) the knights in medieval England.
Medical education sessions chance to discuss and exchange With one main difference:
W hat ’s Up I n T he R egions : 5th European Regional Meeting of IFMSA

women were also attending our

sessions! Our meeting time,
following the wishes of most
NMOs, was mainly focused
on the Bologna Process, an
initiative of many countries
with the aim of creating a
European Higher Education
Area by 2010. It is a process
that affects medicine and our
studies and IFMSA works on
it since 5 years in order to
form policies and give feedback
about the students’ perspective
to all involved stakeholders.
The basic action lines of
Bologna Process, the increase
of medical migration in or
outside Europe and all relevant
policy papers of IFMSA
were presented and discussed
among SCOMEdians. We also
had the chance to find out
about the ways this process is and Andrei!- and we made a to work on medical students’
implemented in two European presentation of future medical mobility in the context of the
countries, Switzerland and education events and important Bologna Process.
Portugal and thus get an idea tools in our work, such as the
of the changes Bologna brings “Project Report Form” and the
SCOME-Europe Team.
to our studies. Apart from “Work in Medical Education
these issues, participants shared Report Form”.
information about national More information can be
and international projects, found in our precious SCOME
like the Austrian “Aches and wiki (http://www.ifmsa.org/
Pains Workshop” or “Medical scome/wiki) using the keyword
Education Journal Review “Brijuni 2008”. Details about
Project” and had the chance the follow-up of the work done
to work in Small Working in our EuRegMe 5 sessions
Groups on the promotion will be sent through IFMSA-
of our Standing Committee Europe server and will be
in Europe and the variations published in SCOME wiki.
of undergraduate medical We would like to thank all
curricula among different participants for their active
faculties and countries. Last involvement and encourage the
of all, a training on “Time rest of you to be active parts
Management” was provided of our European family! See
by IFMSA trainers to our you in Berlin, 3-7 July 2008
participants -thanx Simona
 Next I ssue : title of the articles
D ates for your diary :

Bologna Process Workshops

Increasing undergraduate mobility
by establishing international quality
labels

3rd - 7th July 2008, Berlin, Germany

SCOME preGA
Next I ssue : Patient Safety and Malpractice in the
scope of Medical Education

In next issue you’ll find second part of the Curriculum 3rd - 6th August 2008, Kingston, Jamaica
Development article, IFMSA-Poland will also reveal some
secrets of their BLS/AED Project. There will be also articles
describing regional events and activities. That’s all in June :) August General Assembly
7th - 13th August 2008, OchosRios, Jamaica
www.ifmsa.org

E ditorial Team O f SCOME Newsletter

E ditors in chief :

Blazej Trela (Poland), Project Issues & Europe Issues

Nikos Davaris (Greece), Medical Education Issues & Europe Issues
E ditorial advisory board :

Daniel Rodriguez Muńoz (Spain), IFMSA SCOME Director

Jan Hilgers (Germany), Liaison Officer for Medical Education Issues
R egional I ssues :
Africa:
Dalaal Sibira (Sudan)
Americas:
Cinthya Torres (Peru)
Jolie Anna Crespo (Panama)
Asia-Pacific:
Constance Hui (Hong-Kong)
Eastern Mediterranean Region:
Alaa Tbakhi (Palestine)
Nihel Achour (Tunisia)
 SCOME Newsletter : Guidelines for Authors

How to submit your article

To submit an article, you have to send an e-mail with attached file to scome.newsletter@gmail.com . All articles should be
written in Microsfot Word or Open Office format using Times New Roman font, size 12. In the e-mail you should indicate
what kind of article you are submitting. There should be also information about the author of the article – up to 100 words
(university, NMO, position in the NMO, previous IFMSA experience etc), including photograph. In around 3-7 days after
sending an article, you will get confirmation e-mail with further information. Submitted articles will be copy edited for
style.

SCOME Project Articles

These are articles, describing local/national/transnational SCOME projects, initiatives or proposals. The articles cover the
most important aspects of projects expanding upon theory and ways it is developed, including personal reflections. Each
article should be between 1000 and 2000 words long, with up to 3 tables and the title should be a maximum of 15 words.
The article ought to be divided into five parts: introduction, methods, aims and outcomes, evaluation and follow-up, our
experience. The author should also write five reasons why to run this project with short description of each (approx 30
words). There is room for up to six photographs per article.

Medical Education Issues Articles

These may include articles cover: general medical education knowledge, educational startegies and approaches, assessment,
educational encounters, research and evaluation in medical education field. Articles should be emphasized on illuminating
the principles of medical education knowledge with the use of simple terminology and thorough explanations. Each article
should be 2000 words maximum, up to 3 tables or figures, the title should be a maximum of 15 words. It is strongly
recommended to implement references/suggestions for further reading. There is room for up to six photographs per article.

What’s up in the Regions

Up to 1000 words articles, describing medical education events in your region – meetings, conferences, workshops. Usually
written in a personal style and covering past or future events. There is room for up to two photographs per article.