Faculty development for teachers of family medicine in Europe: reflections on 16 years' experience with the international Bled course.

BACKGROUND: Instruction in principles and methods of medical education is a core component of the training of medical teachers. Curricula for new medical teachers have developed across Europe, but few European courses have had the success of the EURACT Bled course for teachers of family medicine. The course focuses on practical issues in medicine and the professional development of physicians. This article describes 16 years' experience with the Bled course for teachers in general practice/family medicine (GP/FM). COURSE STRUCTURE: The course is centred on the preparation of a teaching module, exploring a specific theme in family medicine. The main teaching methods used are: keynote lectures, small group sessions, field work and preparation of a teaching module by the participants. OUTCOMES: This course has attracted 555 participants from 20 countries since 1992. The course and its outputs have been applied in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, and in continuous professional development (CPD) in several countries. It is a respected forum for faculty development. The experience of the Bled course suggests that academic medicine may be better able to fulfil its responsibilities by paying attention to relevant topics and using appropriate methods in undergraduate and postgraduate medical curricula.

General practice east of Eden: an overview of general practice in Eastern Europe.

AIM: To review the status of family medicine in Eastern European countries, specifically the position of the discipline within the health care system, its academic status, and expected trends in the development of the discipline. METHODS: We used available data in the literature and information gathered from personal contacts with members of European Society of General Practice/Family Medicine (ESGP/FM) expert groups, European Academy of Teachers in General Practice (EURACT), and European General Practice Research Network (EGPRN). Personal interviews with key informants from countries that do not have members in these organizations were used. We also performed a Medline search using terms "primary health care" and "family medicine". RESULTS: It was difficult to get standardized information about the issues addressed. In some countries, contact persons and articles were impossible to find. Because of that, information from some countries is lacking (e.g. Belarus, Ukraine, the Kavkaz states and Central Asian republics). The information from the 14 countries showed that family medicine was formally widely recognized as a specific discipline. In 13 of them, there were some programs of vocational training. In 10 countries, academic recognition has resulted in rapid development in the past two decades, especially after 1989, but in Bulgaria and Moldova we found no evidence of family medicine departments. CONCLUSION: The position of general practice in most Central and Eastern European countries is formally adequate, but a lot of effort will still be needed to achieve the desired level of its recognition and quality.