Medical education in the Netherlands

Abstract

This paper aims to draw a picture of current medical education in The Netherlands. Based on strong historical roots in the seventeenth century, Dutch medical education has adapted to changing circumstances through the ages. Nowadays, medical education in The Netherlands may be called “modern”, according to international standards and schools such as the one in Maastricht serve as examples, nationally and internationally. After considerable redesign of undergraduate education in the 1980s and 1990s, the first decade of the new century shows a revolutionary development of postgraduate medical education, with the introduction of nationwide competency-based training, and mandatory in-training assessments and portfolios for residents. The high level of activity in medical education development is reflected in high research productivity, measured as Dutch articles in international journals. Despite these strengths, several critical issues around medical education are in debate, ranging from entrance selection, small group tutoring, the two-cycle bachelor-master model and the relevance of basic sciences to the planning of enrolment numbers and working hours for residents. Medical education in the Netherlands is a dynamic field.