Article
Common European Curriculum in Occupational Medicine – Emutom Project
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Published: | September 5, 2012 |
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Outline
Poster
One third of our lives are developed at the workplace, and working conditions have a large impact on active population health. In order to maintain the good health status of workers, to prevent and recognize occupational diseases and work accidents, all health professionals should know about the potentially causal relationship between work and health. In different countries, the topic, number of hours, quality and quantity of teaching occupational medicine, the class format differs in a significant way, linked at objective and subjective factors, like growing number of students, low profile of the discipline, not attractive presentations, time constraints and increasing number of new specialties.
The project is financed by the European Education Agency’s LifeLongLearning Programme. The partnership is composed by educational experts and specialists in OM from 5 different universities, in five cities/countries: Ghent/Belgium (coordinator), Belgrade/Serbia, Rouen/France, Amsterdam/the Netherlands, and Timisoara/Romania.
Our project develops a five days module (25-30 hours) for undergraduate students that will be part of the core curriculum for occupational medicine offered by all participating universities and will be available for use by any educational organisation. Initial it was made an inventory of undergraduate curricula in occupational medicine and a questionnaire for the implied stakeholders.
Work packages are:
- management,
- module development,
- quality assurance and control,
- dissemination and
- results exploitation
The main outcome of this project is the EMUTOM website for education in the basic tenets of occupational medicine. The pilot module is evaluated by teachers and students. They can find easily accessible and quality learning material outlining the effect of work on health and the impact of health on work. The internet materials will be upgraded in according with their suggestions. Study of this module is beneficial to all health professionals who are likely to encounter a variety of work and health issues in their daily practice. The final EMUTOM conference will be held in Timisoara, the Romanian City of Flowers, in September 2012.