EDITORIAL

FEM

Arcadi Gual

Director de FEM

Correspondence

For the last 15 years, the Fundación Educación Médica (FEM) has worked incessantly to ensure that the innovations produced in the area of medical education are made known to the Spanish-speaking public. Likewise, it has also strived to popularise the results of research and the latest information about activities related to this field of knowledge by publishing a journal, entitled Educación Médica.

This has been made possible thanks to a combination of two elements: one, the FEM and its patrons, who have spared no personal or economic efforts to ensure the journal sees the light every three months. And the other important factor was the courage and commitment of Mr José A. Dotú at Ediciones Doyma, who encouraged the initiative back in 1998 and shared the eagerness and responsibilities of publishing a journal that, by nature, was and still is an undertaking with few chances of commercial success. It is only fair to acknowledge the fact that, without that early support from Mr Dotú, who now heads the prestigious Fundación Medicina and Humanidades Médicas, the journal would not have seen the light and would have never achieved its goals. Over the years, a number of difficulties have affected the process of publishing the journal and for the last five years Viguera Editores has been responsible for reviving the initial enthusiasm of the now disappeared Ediciones Doyma. Once again, the efforts of the FEM and its patrons, together with the enthusiasm and commitment of a publisher, in this case Mr César Viguera, have made it possible to provide all those with an interest in the area of medical education in Spanish with a high quality, freely accessible journal.

Until the end of 2012 the FEM enjoyed a temporary concession of the nameplate of the journal Educación Médica, but this has now gone back to its legitimate owner. The FEM is satisfied with what has been achieved up until now, but the work is clearly not finished. As a non-profit foundation, the FEM is today just as committed to disseminating new know-ledge, helping to make the assets generated in this area known in Spanish and encouraging communication among researchers, teachers and learners as it was before. And the FEM is not only keen to continue on this journey, but also to step things up a little to provide all the stakeholders in medical education with a high-quality instrument through which to communicate with one another. Hence, with this idea of following the same path, of improving, of personal growth and of rendering a valuable service, from now on the FEM will use a new nameplate for the journal, which as of this issue will continue on from what was previously known as Educación Médica.

Hence, the FEM presents the new nameplate, FEM, with the aim of continuing to be the best instrument for the popularisation of medical education in Spanish, both strongly committed to the values of and at the service of the professionals working in medical education. Today it is our pleasure to present the journal FEM, which we make available for use by everyone.

FEM is a journal dedicated to medical education, which will be openly available [1,2] to anyone who might be interested in the processes of learning/teaching within the area of the health sciences. FEM is indexed on IBECS and will strive to be included in the bibliometric indices with the greatest impact. The journal is aware of and will take into account the cultural, economic and social differences in the different Spanish-speaking countries, which contribute to a great socio-cultural wealth from a wide range of situations.

FEM has no qualms about stating that it wishes to learn from the researchers in the English-speaking world who have made so much progress as regards novel, groundbreaking proposals in medical education. Accordingly, we have requested and obtained the support and patronage of international organisations such as the Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE), the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) and the Pan-American Federation of Associations of Faculties and Schools of Medicine (FEPAFEM-PAFAMS), which also provide us with information about new programmes and opportunities for professionals working in medical education to enhance their knowledge and skills. We have also received the support of academic institutions with responsibilities in the health sciences, such as the Spanish National Conference of Deans of Faculties of Medicine (CNDMED), the Spanish Society for Medical Education (SEDEM) and the Barcelona Official Medical Association (COMB).

To keep up with globalisation, FEM is going to have to introduce changes in its strategies, its structure and the way it is organised. We are not going to carry out a revolution, but we will not give up in the face of the difficulties posed by a society undergoing such a tumultuous period as the present. At the moment, FEM is presented mainly in the traditional paper format and then, secondarily, in an online format. As is logical, the journal aims to act as a vehicle to disseminate information throughout the whole of Latin America, where the digital medium is so significant. In 2014 we hope to change the digital/paper ratio and thereby adapt ourselves to the demands of the new cultural order in which the information and communication technologies play a very significant role and cannot be underestimated.

We look forward to receiving any proposals, changes or suggestions that might further medical education. The editorial board at FEM hopes the journal will enjoy a long life if that means it is making a contribution to the advancement of medical education.

Correspondence:
Arcadi Gual Sala
Departamento de Ciencias Fisiológicas I
Facultad de Medicina.
Universitat de Barcelona.
Casanova, 143
E-08036 Barcelona
agual@ub.edu

Conflict of interests: None declared.

References

1. SciELO España. URL: http://scielo.isciii.es/scielo.php.         [ Links ]

2. Fundación Educación Médica. URL: http://www.fundacioneducacionmedica.org.         [ Links ]