EDITORIAL

AMEE Conference: from Glasgow 2015 to Barcelona 2016

AMEE Conference: de Glasgow 2015 a Barcelona 2016

Jordi Palés-Argullós

Fundación Educación Médica (FEM).

Correspondence

Since it was set up in 1972 at the initiative of different national medical education societies, including the Sociedad Española de Educación Médica (SEDEM), the Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE) has held its international conference or congress on a yearly basis. The 2015 Conference took place at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow, Scotland, from September 5th-9th.

Continuing the exponential growth seen in recent years, the Glasgow conference was attended by 3250 participants from 90 countries who presented over 1300 communications. And that is without taking into account those who followed the conferences and plenary sessions online. The congress was preceded by 45 workshops on the latest topics in medical education, the traditional AMEE courses, such as ESME (Essential Skills in Medical Education), ESCEL (Essential Skills in Computer-Enhanced Learning), ESCEPD (Essential Skills in Continuing Education & Professional Development), RESME (Research Essential Skills in Medical Education), ESMEA (Essential Skills in Medical Education Assessment) and ESMESim (Essential Skills in Simulation-based Healthcare Instruction), and meetings held by the different committees that operate within the association. The conference also offered four plenary sessions, a number of different symposia, workshops conducted during the congress, experts' meetings and sessions devoted to the presentation of communications either orally or as panels. The national medical education societies also held a meeting, which the SEDEM attended.

At that same meeting the association also approved a new structure for its members, with the aim of promoting the development of education of the healthcare professions and research in medical education, recognising the academic innovations and contributions to the development of research in medical education, and facilitating the creation of collaboration and research networks among its members within the field of education. From now on, the members of the AMEE will belong to three categories: members of the AMEE (current members), Associate Fellows of AMEE (AFAMEE) and Fellows of AMEE (FAMEE). Each of these different types of membership will be assigned according to how long the member has belonged to the AMEE and the different merits that can be accredited in each case (publications, contributions to national and international congresses, contributions to the AMEE, significant leadership in the field of medical education, and so forth). Candidates seeking admission to the AFAMEE and FAMEE will be selected by a committee made up of members who are internationally renowned in the field of medical education and the health sciences. These members are called Inaugural Fellows. At present, this committee has 20 members from different countries in Europe, the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. The SEDEM is represented in this committee by its ex-president, Dr Jordi Palés.

These data are clear proof that the annual conference of the AMEE has become the true world conference on medical education, attended by medical educators from all over the world, and have led to the AMEE being known as 'the' international medical education association.

Next year, this important event will be held in Barcelona. Since 1972, the annual AMEE conference has taken place in Spain on several occasions. The first time was in 1991, at the Faculty of Medicine of the Universidad Complutense in Madrid, and the second was in Zaragoza, in 1995, jointly with the SEDEM national congress. Times were different then and the congresses were attended by much smaller numbers of participants (no more than 300). Yet, in the last ten years, attendance has soared, and this has made it necessary to seek venues that are increasingly better suited to catering for large numbers of participants. In 2009, the AMEE conference returned to Spain and was held at the Conference Centre in Malaga. On that occasion it was attended by 2300 participants. In recent years, the number has continued to rise until reaching the above-mentioned figure of 3250 participants in Glasgow.

Next year, Barcelona, and more specifically the Barcelona International Convention Centre, which is an excellent venue, will host the AMEE conference from 27th to 31st August. The theme of the conference will be 'Innovating in Medical Education' and will deal with how to meet the challenges facing medical education in the future and how to justify the costs of innovation and educational decision-making in complex settings.

As on other occasions, the SEDEM will act as the local organiser, which is again proof of the close ties that have always existed between the two societies. And although the SEDEM is not due to hold its congress in 2016, it will organise some sessions targeted more specifically at Spanish medical educators.

Moreover, our educators will be able to take part in all the activities usually offered at the AMEE Conference cited earlier. Likewise, they will be able to visit the numerous academic and commercial stands that will exhibit the latest developments in medical education and the healthcare professions. They will also have the opportunity to present their own experiences in free communications. Without a doubt, the number of participants in recent years, together with the appeal of Barcelona as a prominent tourist destination, allow us to assume that attendance figures will be even higher.

The AMEE congresses have always played an important role in implementing change in medical education by offering educators, teachers, students, researchers and other players the chance to update and share information about developments and good practices in medical education. For Spanish medical and health science educators, who are currently involved in processes of educational change, this event is an excellent opportunity that cannot be missed and must be seized as a chance to explain what we are doing in our setting, to share experiences and, above all, to learn. We are fully aware that it is not an easily affordable conference by our standards and that the dates - at the end of August - are not ideal for us, but we must remember that this is the most important meeting on medical education in the world and the fact that it is being held in Barcelona makes it a really unique occasion. We should do all we can to be able to participate, since events like this are a magnificent stimulus for the development of medical education, a field that is still evolving in Spain.

Hence, I wish to take this opportunity to beckon all the medical educators working in the Spanish and Latin American milieu to set aside those days in their busy schedules and to join us at an excellent AMEE Conference, where they will enjoy the warmest of welcomes in a city that has so much to offer its visitors. Barcelona awaits you.

Correspondence:
Fundación Educación Médica.
Departamento de Ciencias Fisiológicas I.
Facultad de Medicina.
Universitat de Barcelona.
Casanova, 143.
E-08036 Barcelona.
E-mail: jpales@ub.edu