Dr Albert Balaguer, dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at UIC Barcelona, took part in the 3rd Medical Profession Congress of Catalonia, which took place last Saturday in Girona. More specifically, he was responsible for drafting one of the four lectures delivered at the congress, entitled "La formación del médico de futuro. Instrumentos de garantía" [Training Future Doctors: Assurance Instruments]. During the presentation, the doctors explained that thought must be given to whether the admission process to faculties of Medicine should include a test which assesses whether applicants have the skills required of new doctors. They also proposed that the curriculum include subjects such as communication, bioethics, the humanities and clinical management. According to them, they feel it would be a good idea to discuss introducing a common curriculum for like specialisations during the first year of MIR training, in efforts to raise the level of pluridisciplinarity among professionals. They also felt that mechanisms should be put in place which require active professionals to regularly certify that their knowledge is up-to-date.
The event, which brought together close to one thousand Catalan doctors, as well as the President of the Government of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, the new Health Minister, Montserrat Navidad, and health counsellor Antoni Comín, concluded with a video entitled "El médico que queremos. Carta de la sociedad a los médicos" [The Doctor We Want: A Letter to Doctors from Society]. The video featured Dr Adriana Marguet, an alumnus from Medicine's first graduating class at UIC Barcelona and 2nd-year resident at ACEBA Barcelona, as well as the Clinical Simulation Unit at UIC Barcelona. The work outlined the values that both society and the medical profession feel the new generation of doctors, who are just now starting on their professional journey, should possess.
The congress culminated with the approval of the Girona Declaration, a document whereby Catalan doctors have expressed and renewed their commitment to society and the country. The Girona Declaration contains ten points detailing aspects that Catalan doctors regard as fundamental to ensuring that the profession is able to face the challenges of tomorrow and guarantee top-quality service, with the understanding that people are at the heart of both the occupation and vocation. Contributions were made by 40,000 registered doctors in Catalonia and revolved around four central issues: leadership and participation, new professionalism, training future doctors and updating the code of ethics.
