‘Great things are done by a series of small things brought togethe’

(Vincent van Gogh)

The 24th Congress of the Spanish Society for Medical Education (SEDEM) and the 5th Spanish-Portuguese Congress on Medical Education is the medical education event in Spanish with the greatest worldwide projection. It brings together a large number of professionals from a variety of areas and workplaces, including teachers and tutors from basic and clinical schools, students, residents and managers, and co-exists with the National Conference of Deans of Faculties of Medicine.

This year the Congress will be held in Salamanca, from 7 to 9 November 2019, coinciding with the 800th anniversary of the foundation of the University of Salamanca in 1218, the fourth oldest university in the world, where medical studies have been taught since 1254. Its Faculty of Medicine has always been a reference in the training of physicians and other health professionals. It has close ties with Portugal and Latin America, and so the Congress represents a special opportunity to interact with people with similar interests, not only from our country but also from other educational settings, and to exchange ideas and learn from other experiences.

Globalisation and rapid biomedical, technological and communication advances are changing the social landscape and professional practice, which represents a challenge in both undergraduate and specialist training and places a new emphasis, to some extent, on continuing education. This gives rise to the need for constant adaptation to a changing environment, with ever more pronounced demands from society and on the systems.

The common thread of this year’s congress is ‘innovation in medical education’, with five plenary sessions that will address: innovation in the classroom and hospital, innovation in assessment, innovation in the management of medical education, innovation in the graduate-postgraduate interface, and simulation as an instrument of quality training. Experts with extensive experience in the topics will take part in each of the discussion sessions, which will allow for a participatory approach involving the exchange of ideas that can facilitate the adaptation of medical education to the needs of professionals in the 21st century.

In addition to the plenary sessions, the Congress will hold nine participatory workshops, which are intended to serve as forums for discussion on current topics in medical education, some of the most notable being: the OSCE test (technical, humanist and ethical competencies), the flipped classroom, how to use simulation and what for (simulated patients, endoscopy towers, robotic surgery), the humanisation of teaching or how educational theory can have an impact on the work environment. There will also be nine sessions for the presentation of free oral communications, space for printed posters, and projectors for digital posters and videos. As usual, 6 November will be devoted to one- or two-hour pre-Congress courses on hot topics of particular interest related to management, research and the application of new technologies in training and assessment.

The SEDEM Congress in Salamanca is an essential event for all those involved in the training of health professionals with an interest in learning and exchanging opinions and ideas. It provides the opportunity to listen to experts and to discuss different issues with them, as well as to participate in interactive workshops and courses on specific topics and to present one’s own work and experiences. As a result, it makes an important contribution to the excellence of the training of health professionals.

The Congress at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Salamanca unites the tradition of a university centre with a history going back 800 years, an idyllic setting, as is Hospedería Fonseca, and an innovative subject matter with which to face the challenges of medical education in the 21st century.

If medical education is of interest to you, we look forward to seeing you in Salamanca in November.