Board Reports

Since its establishment the Board has worked on a number of important aspects of psychiatric training in Europe. The work is normally carried out through working groups which publish their recommendations in the form of a report. For the full text of a report please click on its title.

• Consensus statement - Psychiatric services focussed on a community: challenges for the training of future psychiatrists
  During their meeting in Geneva in April 2004, the leaders of European psychiatry representing the AEP, UEMS, WHO and WPA, approved the above consensus statement which, it is hoped, will be widely disseminated throughout Europe and form the basis for discussions on developments in training and service provision.
• Survey of Specialist Training in Europe
  At their meeting in April 2004 held in Edinburgh, Scotland, the European Board of Psychiatry agreed that to continue its work on harmonisation of training in psychiatry across Europe it was vital to find out the current state of affairs in all european training centres providing full training in psychiatry. With this aim in mind the Board has designed a questionnaire to collect all the relevant data. This survey is being carried out in all national training centres in the countries represented at the UEMS Section and Board of Psychiatry with the help from national representatives. The results will be published here in 2006.
• Accreditation of European Training Schemes
  The Union Européenne des Médecins Spécialistes through its Sections and Boards has responsibility for European aspects of training, qualifications, CPD and accreditation. Many specialities have recognised the necessity for a Europe-wide assessment of training schemes and examination of individual practitioner abilities. As a result, several specialities (notably those in surgery) have established accreditation and examination procedures which are recognised throughout the European Union. Psychiatry currently lags behind both in formalised national and internationally recognised procedures.
• Charter on Training of Medical Specialists in the European Union
  In 1993 the Charter on Training of Medical Specialists in the European Community (EC) was adopted by the Management Council of the UEMS. The Council consists of the delegates of the national specialist organisations in the European Union. The Charter forms a framework for harmonisation of postgraduate specialist training in the EU in each speciality. After the adoption of the Charter on postgraduate training the 30 UEMS Specialist Sections and 2 Subsections began their work to specify the training needs in their speciality to be included in Chapter 6 of the Charter (please see below). The UEMS Specialist Sections consist of delegates of the national scientific/professional organisations in the specialty. This huge task was completed in 1995 and the present European Training Charter for medical specialists gives a complete picture of the consensus on training programmes that has been reached within the medical specialist profession in the European Union.
• Chapter 6 of the Training Charter
  The European Board of Psychiatry agreed that Chapter 6 of the Training Charter should be reviewed on a regular basis every two years. The current version of Chapter 6 detailing training requirements for psychiatry was last revised in October 2003.
• Consultation Liaison Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine in the European Union
  Information on liaison psychiatry and psychosomatic medicine in EU Member States.
• Supervision in Psychiatry
  In psychiatry, the term ‘supervision’ can have different meanings. There is the day-to-day clinical supervision of staff by senior doctors which takes place, for example, in ward-rounds or team discussions. The senior doctor offers guidance, is responsible for maintaining clinical standards and carries specific medico-legal responsibilities. There is also educational supervision, where much of the content may be clinically related, but in which the focus is different. It should be noted that, while the term ‘supervision’ can also refer to the overseeing of psychotherapy or research undertaken by trainees, these activities are outside the scope of this document.
• Training in Psychotherapy as part of Training in Psychiatry
  In April 1994 the European Board of Psychiatry completed a survey on requirements for psychotherapy as part of the training in psychiatry for the EEC and the EFTA countries. Answers were obtained from eleven EEC countries and the following EFTA countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, and Austria. The results are presented in details in this report.
• Training Scheme Assessment Form
  Regular assessment visits to training centres has been successfully used by some European countries (UK, the Netherlands) to ensure the quality of standards in specialist training. The European Board of Psychiatry believes regular inspections of training centres should be harmonised throughout Europe to ensure high standards of training and to facilitate postgraduate exchange. The Board decided that to conduct routine assessment visits to individual training centres was counterproductive and that the aim would best be achieved by encouraging national associations to organise their own training scheme assessment programmes using the questionnaire designed by the Board which should be adapted to national conditions.

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