Minutes of the 14thmeeting of CESMA

3rd November 2012Crowne Plaza Le Palace Hotel Brussels, Belgium

Chairman Dr Zeev Goldik

*Items thus marked are PowerPoint presentations that will be sent to all delegates present, and only discussion and decision points are noted here.

  1. Apologies & welcome new delegates. Apologies had been received from:

Delegate / Section
Cuvelier / Claude / Pathology
Carachi / Robert / Paediatric Surgery
Van Loon / Johannes / Neurosurgery
Palsson / Runolfur / Internal Medicine
Brooks / Nicholas / Cardiology
Felice / Arthur / Surgery
Albegger / Klaus / ORL-HNS
Tenore / Alfred / Paediatrics
Bax / Deborah / Rheumatology
Yiacoumettis / Andreas / Plastic Surgery
Skerjanc / Alenka / Occupational Medicine
Hancock / Ben / Pearson Vue
  1. The minutes of the meeting on 5/5/12 were approved without amendment.
  1. Chairman’s term of office ends 2013 – Zeev Goldik is willing to serve another term, and this was welcomed by the group, and he agreed to serve a second term
  1. Secretary’s term of office ends 2014 – a replacement will be needed, and delegates were asked to send expressions of interest to the Secretary
  1. Treasurers Report. VassiliosPapalois(VP) reported that the account balance was €4800, held at present in a subaccount of the Section of Surgery. He had asked Dr. Berchicchi (UEMS Treasurer) for the mechanism for transferring the funds to a subaccount at the UEMS, and also how he would access the funds and invoice the various bodies which were part of UEMS-CESMA. In future he proposed that the financial year would be the calendar year, for clarity. Invoices would be sent in January on a prospective basis for 2013 to all Boards attached to CESMA.
  1. European electronic portfolio*. Eric Driessen- Maastricht University (Netherlands) had been unable to secure EU funding. Three specialties (Anaesthesiology; Intensive Care & Gynaecology) are working on European e-portfolios. John Albert (Orthopaedics) stated that an e-portfolio had to be based on a curriculum. Zlatko Fras reported that ECAMSQ was collaborating with Orzone to develop a common e-platform of competencies to incorporate into an e-portfolio, but had failed to secure EU financial support.
  1. Eligibility of non-Europeans for European exams: Candidates from Arab countries*. Dr. Yehia Khater, member of the Egyptian High Committee of Medical Specialties considered the issues that had been raised at CESMA in Malta in 2011, and explained that in Egypt the High Committee decided who was a Specialist and gave them the title of “Fellow of the Egyptian Board in x Specialty.” He stated that there was good collaboration between various Specialties and the 22 Arab states, and that the High Commission was able to judge which candidates from these countries were specialists, and therefore eligible to sit our Assessments. VP stated that this arrangement should be formalised #. Jean-Baptiste Rouffet (J-B R) stated that UEMS had many requests for authentication of Board Certificates from doctors from Arab countries, and that there were legal difficulties, which meant that only the veracity of signatures could be authenticated. Dr. Khater replied that the HCMS in Egypt could authenticate the certificates.
  1. Computer based assessments. Ben Hancock of Pearson Vuecould not attend
  1. Selection and training of examiners*. Zeev Goldik (ZG) presented the Anaesthesiology approach, involving advertising of vacancies, assessment of applicants, a probationary period, and ongoing assessment during exams by senior examiners, who report their findings. In discussion, Jorge Miniero (Orthopaedics) reported that they run training courses every 2 years, and assess examiners 4 yearly. It was suggested that they share their course with CESMA, who could roll it out to other specialties, and he agreed.
  1. UEMS news. Zlatko Fras reported on the recent UEMS meetings in Cyprus. Permission had been refused for the proposed development of the “Domus Medica” in Brussels, and other options for modifying the building were being considered. UEMS had applied for VAT registration, although some of their activities would be exempt. Their accounts had been approved by the auditor. Andreas Yiacoumettis had presented the CESMA report. UEMS were pushing for a competency basis to the new Directive on Professional Qualifications. He asked Sections to participate in the forthcoming EACCME meeting. UEMS next meets in Brussels on 17-19th April and in Paris on 19-20 October 2013
  1. European Junior Doctors permanent Working Group* – Indre Butiene reported on their group’s initiatives. They will meet next year in April & November. ZG hoped that they would report some of their survey findings at a future meeting, or make them available in another way.
  1. PWG PGT (Permanent Working Group on Post Graduate Training). Hans Hjelmqvist reported that they were creating a new template for the “Requirements for Training in X Specialty” which would replace the old “Chapter 6”. They wished to pilot this with a few specialties, and invited interested individuals to get involved
  1. First (pilot) examination in Emergency Medicine.Report postponed, as exam will happen in 2013.
  1. First European examination in Angiology – Mariella Catalano reported that this will happen in Milano later this month
  1. Appeals Mechanism* Owen Sparrow explained the Neurosurgical mechanism, as yet untested, based on the British. Appeals could only be against process, not marks. Appeals might be based on discrimination or an imbalance in curriculum sampling, for example. Appeals need to be held in person, not by videoconferencing. VP emphasised the importance of evidence, and reported that in the Transplantation exam, one examiner takes minutes of the oral/clinical. Recording of exams was advised against, and candidates should be told that the use of any recording equipment was a violation of the exam rules, and therefore resulted in disqualification from the exam.
  1. Appraisal of exams. Vassilios Papalois had produced a proposal, previously discussed, and circulated with the agenda. It had been approved by Romuald Krajewsi, UEMS President. He invited Boards to submit to assessment, by contacting him in the next 3 weeks. Hand Surgery and Transplantation Surgery have already volunteered for pilot assessments. Plastic Surgery had approached Thomas Holzgruber of the Austrian Medical Chamber for an assessment of their exam later this month.
  1. Progress on the Glossary. Alfred Tenore could not be present, so this item was deferred
  1. New UEMS website. J-B Rouffet offered to correct any inaccuracies, and stated that they would like each Section to be able to access and update their own portion of the site. The CESMA pages will have links to all exams, and a password protected area for minutes etc., available to delegates
  1. Any other business
  2. How long after retirement should examiners continue? (Robert Carachi). A time period of 1-2 years had been suggested, but there was no consensus among delegates, and it must be left to individual Boards to decide what is correct for them
  3. European Diploma recognition. Gian-Battista Parigi had sent a letter suggesting that UEMS should take the review of the Directive on Professional Qualifications as a golden opportunity to lobby strongly for European exams to be officially recognised. Intercollegiate International Surgery exams. John Boorman drew the attention of delegates to the initiative of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons to create international Fellowships, initially in General Surgery. It was stated that the Medical College also has a range of Specialist examinations for overseas candidates. Our exams, however, have the advantage of not being tied to one country, but having a co-operative European feel.
  1. Date & venue of next meeting- Istanbul Friday 10th (Social events) and Saturday May 11th 2013

Attendances:

Surname / Forename / Section / Email Address
De Bischop / Michel / Anaesthesiology /
Goldik / Zeev / Anaesthesiology /
Catalano / Mariella / Angiology/Vascular Medicine /
Holzgruber / Thomas / Austrian Medical Chamber /
Joubert / Line / Cardiology /
Lerut / Toni / Cardiothoracic Surgery /
Czarnecka-Operacz / Magdalena / Dermatology and Venereology / ;
Scerri / Lawrence / Dermatology and Venereology /
Williams / David / Emergency Medicine /
Butiene / Indre / European Junior Doctor PWG / ;
Calcagni / Maurizio / Hand Surgery /
Szabo / Zsolt / Hand Surgery /
Beeching / Nicholas / Infectious Diseases / ;
Marcelis / Ludo / Medical Biopathology /
Grisold / Wolfgang / Neurology /
Mellgren / Svein / Neurology /
Pierot / Laurent / Neuroradiology /
Sparrow / Owen / Neurosurgery /
Bogsrud / Trond / Nuclear Medicine /
Pons / Francesca / Nuclear Medicine
Mathysen / Danny / Ophthalmic Surgery /
Schoenaers / Joseph / Oro-Maxillo- Facial Surgery / ;
Albert / John / Orthopaedics and Trauma /
Mineiro / Jorge / Orthopaedics and Trauma /
Gogolin / Thomas / Orzone /
Hallin / Stephan / Orzone /
Subramaniam / Ram / Paediatric Urology / ;
Frischknecht / Rolf / Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine / ;
Boorman / John / Plastic Surgery /
Ohr / Benjamin / Radiology /
Ertl-Wagner / Birgit / European Society of Radiology /
Breatnach / Eamann / European Society of Radiology /
Nöel / Julie-Lyn / Respiratory Medicine /
Smeenk / Frank / Respiratory Medicine /
Cikes / Nada / Rheumatology /
Gruwez / Jacques / Surgery /
Papalois / Vassilios / Surgery /
Rouffet / Jean-Baptiste / UEMS /
Fras / Zlatko / UEMS Liaison Officer / ;
Maillet / Bernard / UEMS Past Secretary General / ;
Hjelmqvist / Hans / UEMS WGPGT /
Gietman / Wilma / Urological Surgery /
Mansilha / Armando / Vascular Surgery / ;
Westwood / Mark /