European Core Curriculum–the Students’ Perspective, Bristol, UK, 10 July 2006

Abstract

The International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA) and the European Medical Students’ Association (EMSA) are proud to present the first outcome-based core curriculum for medicine from the perspective of the medical students of Europe.It covers 76 learning outcomes grouped around nine domains: (1) Clinical Skills, (2) Communication, (3) Critical Thinking, (4) Health in Society, (5) Lifelong Learning, (6) Professionalism–Attitudes, Responsibilities, and Self-development, (7) Teaching, (8) Teamwork, and (9) Theoretical knowledge.The statement is a result of a long process of international workshops, conferences, and discussions on numerous meetings for medical students and health-care professionals all over Europe. Previous conferences resulted in widely recognized policy statements on the ‘Bologna Declaration and Medical Education’ and ‘Quality Assurance in Medical Schools’ (Westbye ; IFMSA/EMSA ).We hope that our European core curriculum from the students’ perspective may serve as a foundation for the development of outcome-based core curricula all over Europe, enhancing mobility of students and graduates and promoting excellent health care in the future.Practice pointsMedical student representatives from Europe agreed on a common core curriculum.Outcome-based approaches promote mobility but still maintain diversity.To agree on a core curriculum is important before implementing the Bacholor/Master system in Europe.Medical students can take an active role in developing new approaches in medical education.