Il ruolo organizzativo e pedagogico del Presidente di Corso di Laurea Magistrale in Medicina

Until lately, the Presidents of the Italian Undergraduate Curricula in Medicine were fully aware of their role in curriculum managing only. A recent reform of the Italian University Structure, shifting the focus from the Schools of Medicine to the single Departments, gave the Curricula Presidents larger autonomy but also burdened them with new managerial tasks, especially in the field of quality assurance. In the meantime, the spurs received by the National Conference of Undergraduate Curricula Presidents, through its Educational Innovation Committee, and the bench-mark of International Medical Education, are convincing the Italian Curricula Presidents of their constitutional role as promoters of the new achievements of research in Medical Education, too. In this setting, the Educational Innovation Committee organized a workshop, open to all the Undergraduate Curricula Presidents, on the topic of their changing role. The workshop was held in Rome (Sapienza University) on the 23rd June 2013, and gained a wide attendance. The workshop was subdivided into two subsequent Sessions, respectively dealing with the managerial and educational roles of the Presidents of Undergraduate Curricula in Medicine. Each Section was organized in three contemporary working groups. Each class was lead by an expert in medical education and by a chairperson, and worked separately on a different topic. At the end of each Session, a plenary debriefing allowed all participants to share the conclusions of the different groups. The topics addressed in the single groups were: Session 1 (managerial role): 1.1) the role of the President of the Undergraduate Curriculum in Medicine; 1.2) the role of the Coordinators of the single Integrated Courses and Terms (Italian curriculum is 6-year long and is arranged into 12 subsequent semesters); 1.3) the role of the Teaching-Educational Committee (every President should by assisted by a technical committee including both Teachers and students, and in some Curricula a proper Medical Education Committee is also present); Session 2 (educational role); 2.1) quality control, including self-evaluation, on curriculum efficacy; 2.2) teaching and learning clinical skills; 2.3) modalities of learning assessment.