The European Council for Accreditation of Medical Specialist Qualifications
Since its creation in 1958, the UEMS ambition is to promote patient safety and quality of care through the development of the highest standards of medical training and health care across Europe. The UEMS is addressing these issues through the harmonisation of medical specialists’ qualifications
In line with its Strategy adopted in 2008, the UEMS established the European Council for Accreditation of Medical Specialist Qualifications (ECAMSQ®) with a view to assess the competence of European medical specialists according to these high standards of medical training. When fully implemented, this competence-based approach aims to achieve a common background for the assessment and certification of medical specialists’ competence all over Europe, based on the core curricula developed by the Specialist Sections of the UEMS. In a context of increased cross-border healthcare, the development of such a model will guarantee the delivery of safe and high quality health care for all European citizens.
While doing so, the ECAMSQ® is not intended to supersede the sovereignty of national competent authorities nor create a new layer of bureaucracy but rather to mobilise the existing initiatives and forces in the field of postgraduate training. Its founding philosophy is based on competence-based learning with periodical formative assessments of Knowledge, Skills and Professionalism, notably by means of multiple choice questions (MCQs) and direct observation of practical skills (DOPS).
For this purpose, the UEMS instigated in 2011 pilot tests of knowledge assessment in several specialties i.e. Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care, Radiology and Cardiology. These tests were supported by an e-platform developed by Orzone with which we partnered. Thanks to this partnership, real-life tests have been successfully organised and paved the way to future developments of competence-based assessments.
The UEMS aims to develop a common framework of assessmsent of medical competence at the European level based on UEMS Standards. In doing so, the UEMS does not want to duplicate or supersede current training models but rather federate and develop existing and/or new initiatives.
The UEMS is currently working on the development of a flexible, useful and high quality e-portfolio supporting the assessment of medical competence.
Background information on ECAMSQ: