The educational responsibilities of a National Academy of Medicine

Academies of Medicine now should see their educational mission as concern with all stages of medical education in the nation. Traditionally, National Academies have tended to regard Postgraduate Training as their proper educational responsibility. Such limitation is no longer defensible, particularly because medical education is now accepted as a continuum and, moreover, is viewed as lifelong. Discontinuities between basic education, specialist training and continuing education are now considered detrimental, and have to be eliminated. The Medical School Curriculum must be required to equip future doctors with the self-learning skills now essential for specialist training. The longest and most critically important phase of training has unquestionably become continuing medical education. It is argued therefore that basic medical education, specialist training and continuing education have all to be concerns of National Academies. National Academies in Europe, inevitably, have come to have profound international obligations now that free movement of doctors is legally established in the European Community.