[Professional competences in certification in occupational medicine as a subject of postgraduate training]

In the Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Łódź, teaching programs, contents of classes and teaching personnel of all postgraduate training cycles in occupational medicine were assessed (at the end of classes using a special questionnaire) by the students in the years 1998-2001. The evaluation studies with the help of a questionnaire on the self-assessment of acquired competencies were also carried out during this period. A comparative analysis enabled to define the degree in which particular courses (training cycles) concerning directly certification in some domains of occupational medicine, performed in 2000-2001, contributed to the increased professional competencies perceived by the students. Furthermore, of the whole list of occupational medicine subjects taught in 1998-2000, those concerning directly certification were separated, characterized quantitatively and qualitatively and compared with other aspects of special training in occupational medicine. One the basis of a specific evaluation study of the testing questions, performed in 1999, the quality of some questions on certification used in the tests of knowledge in occupational medicine was described.