MISSION

The aim of the UEMS Section of Rheumatology/European Board of Rheumatology is to maintain the highest level of care with the best outcome for those with musculoskeletal conditions through establishing and maintaining high professional standards amongst rheumatologists in Europe.

OBJECTIVES

• To improve the awareness of UEMS/EBR and its activities among rheumatologists and their national societies, national organisations responsible for training and continuing medical education, and the European Commission; to improve its organisation; communication and influence.

• To raise standards of specialist training by:

  • – Establishing standards of training centres

  • – Ensuring these standards are met by training centres by processes of accreditation, documentation, and visitation

  • – Ensuring that trainees have a comprehensive training according to UEMS/EBR and national standards and that there is evidence of the satisfactory completion of this with the acquisition of appropriate competencies through log books, appraisal, and possibly, by examination

  • – Enabling training in different centres within Europe.

• To maintain standards of clinical care by recommendations for requirements for CME

• To ensure provision of appropriate and high quality educational activity; setting and monitoring standards for courses, meetings, and other educational activities

• To promote the development of the specialty of rheumatology.

EXECUTIVE GROUP

President: Professor Anthony D Woolf

Past President: Professor Basil Thouas

President elect: (to be elected)

Secretary: Dr Klaus Bandilla

Treasurer: Dr Stefaan Poriau

Coordinators of working groups

MEMBERSHIP

For each European Union or associated country, a representative of the relevant professional organisation and of the academic organisation.

President of EULAR.

Chair of EULAR Education and Training Standing Committee.

WORKING GROUPS

• Accreditation Group (coordinator Martin Seifert)

  • – Ensuring high standards of the practice and teaching of rheumatology and of research by systems of accreditation against agreed standards

• Training Standards Group (coordinator Hans Bijlsma)

  • – Ensuring high standards for specialist training

• CME Group (coordinator Anthony Woolf)

  • – Ensuring high standards of clinical rheumatology in practice through establishing and maintaining standards for CME specific to rheumatology

• Rheumatology in Practice Group (coordinator Patrick Sichere)

  • – Ensuring the highest standards of rheumatological practice

Each working group has:

• Aims

• Activities

• Membership

• Work plan with deliverables and timelines.

The UEMS Section of Rheumatology/EBR has developed:

• Recommendations for training centres, trainers, and trainees

• A specialist training curriculum and log book

• Charter on CME in rheumatology

• Core curriculum for CME/CPD

• Standards for quality assurance of CME activities.

A database has been developed of specialist training centres throughout Europe.

The UEMS Section of Rheumatology/EBR are developing:

• A European exchange training programme

• Methods to assess rheumatologists which may include examination and visitation:

Surveys have been undertaken looking at:

• Manpower

• Patterns of clinical practice

• Continuing medical education.

The UEMS Section of Rheumatology/EBR is working with the Bone and Joint Decade Education Task Force to develop core recommendations for an undergraduate musculoskeletal curriculum that is applicable globally. Papers on the curriculum development and work on setting standards were presented in March 2003 at the World Federation of Medical Education and in June 2003 at EFORT (European Federation of Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology).