About Essential Skills in Medical Education (ESME)

The concept of combining a course covering the essential skills in medical education with an international conference has proved popular. Successful ESME courses have now been run since 2005 in Europe, Asia, Africa, North America and Australia, and since 2006 at IAMSE. In collaboration with IAMSE, The Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE) is pleased to offer the ESME at IAMSE course.

With the increasing professionalization of medical education, the need for faculty in the healthcare professions to have training in teaching is widely recognized. Whilst many institutions worldwide offer Diploma and Masters courses in medical education, there is a lack of accredited basic level courses. The ESME Program has been designed to meet the need for an entry level teaching qualification. ESME will be of particular interest to faculty who are involved with medical education for the first time, or who have been given some new responsibilities or assignment relating to teaching. Others are finding the ESME Program useful as a refresher course or update. The course at the IAMSE Meeting is designed to be specifically relevant to medical science educators.
 
The ESME Program is accredited by AMEE and approved by an international Advisory Board. It has been designed around a set of competencies that all practicing teachers should possess. These include: Effective Teaching, Skilled Educational Planning and Informed Assessment and Evaluation.
 

ESME Course schedule during the IAMSE 2023 Conference:

Day 1: Friday (full-day workshop)
  • Theme 1: The Skilled Educational Planner
  • Theme 2: The Effective Teacher
  • Theme 3: The Informed Assessor/Evaluator
Questions addressed will include:
  • What should the learner learn? (Learning outcomes);
  • How should the learner learn it? (Teaching and learning methods);
  • How should it be organized into a curriculum? (Curriculum planning);
  • How do we know if the learner has learned it? (Assessment).
Day 2: Saturday (half-day workshop)
  • Discussion of issues raised during the Meeting relating to the three themes and questions introduced on day 1;
  • Theme 4: an introduction to the Roles of the Teacher; the Scholarly Educator and Best Evidence Medical Education; and the Teacher as a Leader;
  • Keeping up to date, and further information on how to obtain the ESME Certificate in Medical Education and how to proceed to the IAMSE Medical Educator Fellowship Program.
Day 3: Sunday
Attendance at IAMSE Meeting sessions, and a dedicated feedback session with ESME faculty.

Day 4: Monday
Attendance at IAMSE Meeting sessions, and a dedicated feedback session with ESME faculty.

Day 5: Tuesday
Attendance at IAMSE Meeting sessions, and a dedicated working lunch with ESME faculty to complete the course.

ESME Faculty for the Course

Ronald Harden MD, formerly Director of the Centre for Medical Education, University of Dundee, UK, and former General Secretary of AMEE and currently Editor of Medical Teacher;

Aviad Haramati Ph.D, Professor of Physiology and Medicine, and Director of the Center for Innovation and Leadership in Education (CENTILE), at Georgetown University Medical Center.

Amber J. Heck, PhD, Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences at the University of North Texas Health Science Center.
 
Mrs. Pat Lilley is administrator for the Course.

Cost of the ESME IAMSE Course

The cost of US $650 includes:
  • participation in ESME full-day pre-conference session on Friday;
  • feedback sessions with faculty on Sunday and Monday;
  • post-conference session on Tuesday;
  • ESME resource materials, including selected AMEE Guides, in electronic format;
  • award of a Certificate of Attendance;
  • opportunity to submit short report for assessment for ESME Certificate in Medical Education.
Participants must register for the IAMSE Meeting in the normal way, and pay the IAMSE registration fee. In addition, ESME course participants are encouraged to attend and pay for an IAMSE Pre-Conference Faculty Development Course of their choice, on Saturday afternoon.

ESME Report leading to ESME Certificate

To earn the ESME Certificate in Medical Education, following completion of the ESME Course, and after returning to their institutions, participants must submit a short report describing the application of the ESME competencies in their own teaching practice. The report is due within six months after completion of the ESME course and will be read by one of the course leaders. Once deemed acceptable, the participant will be awarded the ESME Certificate in Medical Education. Completion of the ESME Certificate is a required step for enrollment in the IAMSE Medical Educator Fellowship.