Medical self-government negative about education standards

The Presidium of the Supreme Medical Council, having reviewed the draft regulation of the Minister of Education and Science on the standards of education preparing to practice the profession of doctor, dentist, pharmacist, nurse, midwife, laboratory diagnostician, physiotherapist and paramedic sent for the Minister's signature on October 2, 2023. reiterates its earlier critical stance on the changes to the "Standards of education preparing to practice the profession of doctor" as well as the "Standards of education preparing to practice the profession of dentist," which were introduced as annexes to the Regulation of the Minister of Education and Science amending the Regulation on standards of education preparing to practice the profession of doctor, dentist, pharmacist, nurse, midwife, laboratory diagnostician, physiotherapist and paramedic.

The medical association recalls that the work on the draft regulation did not take into account many of the relevant comments made by the social partners, nor did it hold a reconciliation conference to discuss the most relevant directions of the changes and the comments made against them. According to the PNRL, one of the main reasons for making changes to the above-mentioned standards is the intention to facilitate the provision of medical studies to universities insufficiently prepared to carry out this task. In the "report on public consultations and opinions" of the draft regulation presented by the Ministry, as a justification for rejecting some of the comments made by the social partners, there is, among other things, the information that "The university is responsible for the quality of education in the fields of study conducted, which is subject to verification during the program evaluation carried out by the Polish Accreditation Commission - an institution acting independently to improve the quality of education." The Medical Association reminds here that the opinion of the Polish Accreditation Commission is unfortunately not binding on the Minister and it is possible to open a field of study despite the negative opinion of this institution.

In order to ensure the required educational results, it is necessary to analyze the methods of training more carefully, taking into account the share of theoretical classes, as well as a more precise division of classes conducted using virtual aids and classes using natural preparations, especially "direct" work in dissecting rooms - according to the principle of "Mortui vivos docent."

The objections of the medical self-government, as well as the Conference of Rectors of Academic Medical Schools, included the elimination of the possibility of realizing some learning outcomes in the form of seminars.

The regulation changes the number and range of teaching hours and the size of student groups for certain classes, which will likely result in the need to change work arrangements and salaries, and consequently have financial implications, which does not coincide with the regulatory impact assessment.

Practical classes should be held in groups of 3-4 people, in larger groups do not provide the opportunity for equal participation of all students. Therefore, the possibility of carrying out these classes in groups of 8, as included in the standard, should be considered contrary to the declarations of the authors of the regulation regarding the "practicing of the medical profession."

There is also no explicit reference to knowledge of the principles of professional ethics applicable to physicians and dentists contained in the Code of Medical Ethics in the standards of education preparing to practice medicine and dentistry. There is only a reference to an unspecified adherence to "ethical standards," "ethical values" or "the idea of humanism in medicine."

The PRL highlights the fact that the regulation, according to the OSR, refers to only 26 universities, while currently a growing number of entities are authorized to train physicians. The question should be asked whether this is merely a legislative error, or whether it stems from the intention to introduce "two-speed medicine" teaching.

With regard to dental hygiene training, it is advisable to consider the introduction of dental hygiene and dental assisting training by universities that train dentists. This will ensure standardized training of dental teams during clinical classes. The introduction of these individuals as assistants will enable the real performance of procedures by each student instead of - as happens now - working in pairs, which in turn actually reduces the efficiency of practical training. The introduction of the above regulation will also increase the professional effectiveness of trained medical staff, by delegating tasks to staff and providing better access to dentists, who, in addition to their existing tasks, in light of the project's assumptions, are expected to fulfill a much greater role in prevention, diagnosis and post-surgical care in oncology patients.

The Presidium of the Supreme Medical Council stresses that the "massification" of medical education that we are currently experiencing leads to compromises that are too far-reaching, which carries a real threat of lowering the quality of education and, in the long term, worsening the health security of Polish women and men.

Source: NIL