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International infectious diseases teaching to undergraduate medical students: A successful European collaborative experience* |
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| Authors: | Caroline Charlier Ingólfur Johannessen Claire L. Mackintosh David Wilks Roberto Cauda |
| Affiliation: | 1. Paris-Descartes University, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France;2. Centre d’Infectiologie Necker-Pasteur, Necker-Enfants Malades University Hospital, Institut Imagine, Assistance Publique-H?pitaux de Paris, Paris, France;3. Institute Pasteur, French National Reference Centre and WHO Collaborating Centre for Listeria, Biology of Infection Unit, Inserm U1117, Paris, France;4. Centre for Infection Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK;5. Laboratory Medicine NHS Lothian, Edinburgh, UK;6. Infectious Diseases Department, Western General Hospital, NHS Lothian, Edinburgh, UK;7. Infectious Diseases Department, Western General Hospital, NHS Lothian, Edinburgh, UK;8. Institute of Infectious Diseases, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Facoltà di Medicina, Rome, Italy |
| Abstract: | Context: The emerging global-health paradigm requires medical teaching to be continuously redefined and updated; to this end, transnational approaches should be encouraged and medical training harmonized. Infectious diseases (ID) teaching in the current context of emerging infections, fast-increasing bacterial resistance and large-scale human migration, was chosen to develop a common international course. Objective: We report the successful implementation of a joint European undergraduate course aiming to (i) develop a common ID core curriculum among European medical schools; (ii) promote mobility among teachers and students (iii) promote international cooperation among European teachers. Methods: The course was built around teachers’ mobility. It was delivered in English by a team of European medical educators from Paris Descartes University, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Rome and the University of Edinburgh to groups of 25–30 undergraduate medical students at each university. Partner Institutions officially recognized the course as substitutive of or additive to the regular curriculum. Results: The course has been running for 3 years and received excellent satisfaction scores by students and staff as regards to scientific content, pedagogy and international exchanges. Conclusion: This cooperative approach demonstrates the feasibility of a harmonized European undergraduate medical education, having ID as a test experiment for future developments. |
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