Leonardo EURACT Course for Trainers in Family Medicine
Between the 17th May and 20th May this year, six College members successfully participated in the Leonardo EURACT Course for Trainers in Family Medicine held in Caldas de Monchique, Portugal. These were Dr Ron Borg, Dr Noel Caruana, Dr Patricia De Gabriele, Dr Mario R Sammut, Dr Jean Karl Soler and Dr Andrew P Zammit which were sent on behalf of the Malta College of Family Doctors.
This course was designed and developed by EURACT and the Leonardo da Vinci project “Towards development of the European Network of Postgraduate and Continuing Education for Family Physicians". It was one of a series of implementation courses that have been run in different European countries, organized by the European Academy of Teachers in General Practice (EURACT) in conjunction with the national colleges and teaching organizations. The general aim of the course is to improve the quality of General Practice/Family Medicine teaching in European Countries. Trainers involved in postgraduate training in family medicine from 11 different European countries participated in this meeting. The exchange of information and teaching programs between participant countries ensured wider a dissemination of the skills and knowledge acquired during the course.
The course consisted of the following eleven sessions that were:
Session 1: Introduction
Session 2: What is a good trainer?
Session 3: Practice organisation
Session 4: Adult education theory
Session 5: Learning styles
Session 6: Personal learning plan
Session 7: Teaching methods
Session 8: Feedback
Session 9: Designing the programme
Session 10: Assessment
Session 11: Plans for practical implementation
At the end of the course, the Maltese team of trainers worked on a preliminary plan for developing a training programme for teachers in our own country, which they are bound with EURACT to deliver in a year’s time.
The course prospectus and programme can be found here