World conference on medical education: A window on the globalizing world of medical education?

Abstract

The Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE) is a worldwide association for all interested in medical and health professions education (http://www.amee.org). AMEE organizes an annual meeting, the most recent of which (2005) was held in Amsterdam. At this meeting certain countries and regions were better represented than others, while some countries with large populations or a significant role in the history of medical education were almost completely absent from the international scene. At the same time, the themes addressed at the AMEE conference concern issues of international interest, and appear to be leading to internationalization of pedagogical and research methods and policies for educational standards. It is therefore crucial that all parts of the medical education world be well represented. This paper illustrates both the strengths and imbalances of AMEE as a forum for the elaboration of international activities and standards in medical education. Finally, the authors wonder why a tendency to assume international generalizability of concepts and perspectives in medical education is not accompanied by studies that compare and contrast medical education methods, research and values between countries and cultures.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Christophe Segouin

CHRISTOPHE SEGOUIN, who is a French physician in the Paris area, used to be a visiting professor at the Wilson Centre, University of Toronto in 2004 and is currently an affiliated professor at the Centre. He works for the University Hospitals of Paris and the Faculty of Medicine, University Denis Diderot, Paris 7.

Brian Hodges

BRIAN HODGES is the director of the Wilson Centre, University of Toronto.

P. Niall Byrne

NIALL P. BYRNE is the Coordinator of the Visiting Scholars Program at the Wilson Centre, University of Toronto.