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ISRAEL

This has been a quiet summer in Israel on the family medicine education scene since the Vilnius meeting. However there are some interesting developments to report.

BME

The Tel Aviv University faculty of medicine is undergoing reform of the undergraduate medical program. It will now have a vertically integrated curriculum based on teaching by systems. The clinical departments will have input in both the pre-clinical and clinical years. The program starts with an extensive program in behavioral medicine called “Medicine, the Person and Society” which was developed in part and is taught by many family physicians. The department of family medicine has a new chairman, Prof. Michael Weingarten who has returned from a sabbatical year in Oxford. Two deputy chairmen will assist him: Dr. Shlomo Vinker and Dr. Yonah Yaphe.

VT

The Ministry of Health has granted recognition to the three new postgraduate departments of family medicine in the centre of the country. The move is to smaller departments that are more manageable educational units. There are now eleven departments in the country including a new department run by the Israel Defense Forces that will fund training posts in civilian hospitals and military primary care clinics. Most departments now have a research requirement for trainees. New research units have sprung up. The Afula department has recently held a successful research day for presentations by trainees.

CME

A successful national program for training in doctor-patient communication using actors as simulated patients is now going into its second year. The Tel Aviv department played a key role in developing this program. A study testing the efficacy of the program is also underway. There was good representation by 17 GP's from Israel at the WONCA meeting in Ljubljana this summer including active participation in seminars, workshops, oral presentations and posters.

What I have done as EURACT council member?

A faculty development workshop was held in Tel Aviv based on the material developed at the Bled course on medical errors last year. Participation in the EURACT sessions at the WONCA meeting was encouraged. I participated actively in the Bled course on ethics earlier this month. Preparations are underway for the annual meeting of the Israel Society of Teachers of Family Medicine where I will present EURACT activities.