Section 5. Postgraduate and continuing medical education

Abstract

Postgraduate education is a formal, officially recognized form of training of medical graduates to function as medical specialists. Training programmes should be flexible in order to allow the individual trainee to design a programme to meet his or her anticipated function as a health professional in the chosen discipline. Postgraduate training should offer a wide range of different educational experiences to the trainee and, in particular, should include experiences both in advanced medical care and clinical research and in a community health centre. The postgraduate educational programme must be designed in such a way that the following requirements are achieved : (a) clinical competence; (b) a critical and scientific attitude; (c) awareness of the emotional needs of patients; (d) capacity for self-criticism and continuous learning; and (e) development of personal skills in the fields of education, teamwork and personal communication.