The Association of Surgeons of Malta yesterday launched a new programme of Continuing Medical Education for the medical profession.
Co-financed by the European Social Fund and the government, the programme consists of a series of modules, each dealing with conditions that are often encountered in medical practice.
The first module in this series deals with vertigo, a common clinical condition that presents to all practicing medical professionals from whatever specialty. The second module deals with acute abdominal pain. The third module, which will be launched in the next few weeks, tackles the pre-operative assessment of patients with respiratory problems.
The modules are aimed at both established medical practitioners practising in any specialty, including
family practice, as well as
doctors in training, clinical year medical students, pharmacists and allied professionals.
This is the first time that formal continuing medical education modules are being totally designed and implemented in Malta and made available to everyone on the internet.
Mr Adrian Agius, vice-president of the Association of Surgeons and coordinator of the e-learning programme, said that “due to rapid advances in surgical techniques and technology, medical professionals need to learn more in a shorter length of time. Efficient use of their time is a must. The interactive internet-based learning modules enable individuals to home in on the important practical points that they need to assimilate into their practice.
“An online course can be completed at a time convenient to the participant and one can progress at one’s own pace,” he said.
“Another feature is online discussion with the training faculty. Certification follows successful completion of the module. The courses have been endorsed by the Departments of Surgery, Medicine and Family Medicine of the University of Malta and by the Malta College of Family Doctors and the Malta College of Pharmacy Practice.
“Internet-based learning knows no boundaries and will minimise the need to travel abroad, while enriching our professionals with learning that is peer-reviewed by distinguished contributors from overseas.”
Project manager Dr Kenneth Grech said: “This is a unique opportunity for specialist associations to benefit from these funds to promote and consolidate structured specialist training in Malta, and the Association of Surgeons of Malta have been particularly active in this programme.”
The implementation of this programme has been entrusted to Medical Portals Ltd, a company that for the last 10 years has been operating TheSYNAPSE – a portal for medical professionals.
Medical Portals Ltd managing director Wilfred Galea said: “The eCME programme is another service in the long list of services and tools for medical professionals. We are proud to launch this service as part of TheSYNAPSE eCME and we are proud of our relationship with the Association of Surgeons of Malta.
“For the last 10 years, TheSYNAPSE has been a source of practical solutions for effective health care. This programme allows medical professionals to enrich their knowledge portfolio and, in the comfort of their home, it allows for interaction between tutors and participants and is a great way of adult learning.
“We are confident that it will play a major role in medical education in Malta,” said Dr Galea. The ASM eCME modules can be accessed from http://cme.thesynapse.net