The Council of Portuguese Medical Schools (CEMP), the Medical Association and the National Association of Medical Students (ANEM) have decided to come together and create a platform that will allow to put on the agenda some of the most urgent topics in defence of quality medicine. The initiative comes at a time when health professionals are concerned about the reality on the ground, especially at the level of the National Health Service, with direct and indirect impact on the quality of undergraduate and postgraduate medical education.

This is a natural alliance between three structures with important and complementary functions in the defence of quality medicine for both doctors and patients. Formalization will better structure action and act more sharply on the most pressing training concerns.

The Medical Training Platform in Portugal aims to have a comprehensive action plan. Among the key areas that need urgent intervention by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education and the Ministry of Health are human resources planning in medicine, numerus clausus, clinical secrecy applicable to medical students and access to specialized training. The risks of opening new medical degrees and the need for further scientific and clinical research are other topics the platform intends to warn about.

“As Medical Schools, there are several issues that concern us. But, immediately, I would highlight the lack of planning in terms of human resources, which has led to the determination of numerus clausus that exceed the training capacity that medical schools have and the needs of the country”, reinforces the president of the Council of Portuguese Medical Schools, Fausto J. Pinto.

On the students’ side, the priorities are common. “ANEM is concerned about the lack of human resources planning. Due to lack of coordination between higher education and health, medical schools have more students than they can accommodate, posing risks in terms of undergraduate education. At the same time, we know that it will be increasingly difficult to get a place to complete our specialist training, as the NHS is weakened because it cannot attract specialized professionals. It is no longer a question of having a place or not, and the problem already lies in the NHS's ability to provide health care to those in need”, adds ANEM’s President Vasco Mendes.

Lisbon, 19 December 2019