Programme for Advanced Medical Education (Doctoral Programme for Physicians)

Transcription

1 Programme for Advanced Medical Education (Doctoral Programme for Physicians) th Edition 1

2 Programme for Advanced Medical Education The reasons Contemporary Biomedical science provides clinical medicine with unprecedented opportunities for a better understanding of the normal and the pathological, offering new approaches to the physiology of complex systems, as well as powerful tools for disease prevention and therapy. It has also laid the foundations for a new taxonomy of disease with an intrinsically predictive nature, in which specific molecular signatures promise the pre-symptomatic identification of the individual at risk and, hopefully, disease prevention. Quite a wonderful promise, but difficult to translate into reality if clinical physicians remain apart from the very process of knowledge production. In fact, research carried out by the clinician has two characteristics that are both unique and indelible: his/her personal experience of taking care of the sick human being and a professional training that is always informed by an organismcentred view. While the former explains why the clinical-investigator has always been seen as embodying the desire to transfer the benefits of scientific progress to the patient, the latter appears nowadays as an indispensable factor for ensuring the progress of basic biomedical research. However, in recent decades, doctors involvement in research has been in progressive decline. A phenomenon common to all developed countries, it reflects the difficulty encountered by doctors in reconciling a long and complex professional training with the acquisition of competences enabling them to keep pace with developments in modern biomedical science. This ever-growing gap between the doctor and Science represents, at the very least, a serious threat to the development of medical research that is truly beneficial for the patient. 2

3 The aim The Programme aims at fostering and supporting the practice of high-quality medical research by physicians. It is specifically targeted at practicing clinicians who wish to pursue research activities as a long-term professional project. Who can apply Highly motivated clinicians who wish to acquire a strong scientific background as a basis for excellence in medical research and clinical practice. Candidates should be willing to engage into multidisciplinary and cooperative research projects as a complement of their clinical practice. The Programme accepts up to 10 applicants, Interns or Specialists, under the following conditions: FULL-TIME commitment to the Programme s activities (graduate courses and research): Applicants must obtain authorization from the Health Service and Service Director to interrupt their routine clinical activities during the duration of the Programme (up to 4 years) and to undertake research activities after the completion of the Programme. The Programme offers the selected applicants: High-level education in biomedical and clinical sciences in a strong interdisciplinary perspective. Personal funding (jointly supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia and Ministry of Health). 3

4 Specialists: a 30,000/year scholarship for 4 years Interns: a 24,000/year scholarship for 4 years An allowance for expenses related to clinical research activities will be granted on an individual basis by the Champalimaud Foundation. About the Programme Before applying be sure that the Programme structure fits your expectations and personality. The first 8 months will be dedicated to graduate courses and laboratory rotations, followed by research activity in your area of interest. All graduate courses will be held in English and are strongly science-based. However, the different topics of fundamental biomedical science will be approached under the perspective of their impact on clinical medicine. Classes are tutorial and the Faculty mostly international. Although formal lectures will be included in each module, the emphasis will be put on informal discussions. You will be expected to actively interact with the Faculty and your colleagues. Non-medical scientists, mostly young PhD-students of the host Institutions, will also attend the majority of the modules. Being deeply committed to biomedical research, they not only appreciate the contact with clinicians as are very much in need of medically-informed ways of thinking to better develop their own projects. If you enjoy sharing your experience with others and are open to learn with people of different backgrounds, this Programme is for you. You will be expected to attend the PFMA annual retreats in which all students meet together to present their work and share their personal experiences. The host Institutions in All educational modules will take place at the best Biomedical Research Institutions of the country. In 2011/2012, the Institutions associated with the programme are: 4

5 Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciências, Oeiras. Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Lisboa IPATIMUP, Porto. htpp:// Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Ciências Médicas da Universidade Nova de Lisboa The selection procedure Applicants will be selected by a Selection Committee that includes the Programme Director and 3 (or more) members appointed by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, the Gulbenkian Foundation and the Champalimaud Foundation. The Selection Committee will consider all applications submitted to the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation website before the deadline of applications. First of all, attention will be given to the applicant s motivation letter, Curriculum Vitae and all the information required for the application process. The Selection Committee will invite the pre-selected applicants for an interview, which will take place at the Gulbenkian Foundation s headquarters. The interview will be the key determinant for admission. In order to differentiate between applicants, the Committee will pay special attention to the following aspects: A strong interest in combining clinical and research activities as a longterm professional project. The determination to contribute, in the future, towards the scientific development of both their colleagues and Health Unit. A high level of motivation and leadership skills. Candidates are expected to be available to move abroad for research work. The selected applicants will start the programme on the 26 th September

6 The educational component in more detail The aim of the graduate courses is to offer a broad education in modern biomedical sciences to practicing physicians rather than produce professional scientists. In other words, you will be acquainted with the concepts, language and techniques of contemporary biomedical sciences, so that you can critically appraise the contribution of science to clinical medicine as well as acquire new horizons for research. In the first three months (Science & Medicine), courses are focused on scientific topics with impact on Clinical Medicine such as Cellular and Molecular Biology, Molecular Medicine, Genetics, Evolutionary Medicine, Developmental Biology, Computational Biology, Biostatistics and Epidemiology. The second trimester (Challenges in Clinical & Translational Research) is devoted to new approaches on biomedical and clinical research, diagnosis, prevention and therapy of frequent diseases, as well to the ethical challenges of contemporary medical research. The last module Preparing for Research is dedicated to methodological aspects related to writing scientific articles, research projects and research-grants. Most lectures and seminars will take place during the morning. After-lunch sessions will be generally devoted to group discussions, journal clubs or, simply, to personal study. Upon completion of the graduate courses, and before moving to your PhD host Institution, you will have a 2 months period of lab-rotations (of your choice) in which you will become familiar with techniques useful for your research project. To see the calendar and places of all courses visit the webpage of the Programme at Assessment The progress of the participants will be assessed informally throughout the educational courses. In turn, the Faculty will receive feedback on the teaching process and its suitability in terms of the expectations of trainees. 6

7 Upon completion of the graduate courses, students will present their research plans to an Evaluation Committee that will include members external to the Programme. The Committee will evaluate the structure of the scientific thought that has been acquired by the participants, together with their research plans. A special attention will be given to the quality of the Institution/Supervisors chosen by the student for her/his PhD work. The possibility of continuing in the Programme will depend on a mutually agreed decision based on a positive assessment by both parts. The research project You can concentrate on your research work upon conclusion of the graduate courses. The nature of the project and where it will be undertaken depends on your own interests, the specific conditions of the host institution and on the collaborations that you might have already established or wish to establish. It will also depend on the stage of your medical career. While a Specialist might well have a clear idea on what she/he wants to investigate, a young Intern is likely to be less oriented to a specific research topic or may even discover it during the educational courses. The Programme coordinator and Faculty members will be open to discuss with you all the possibilities at stake. In any case, your research project will be peer-reviewed by external experts. How to apply The deadline for the submission of applications will be advertised in the public press and the Gulbenkian Foundation website ( All applications must be submitted online, using the form available at the Programme website ( Applicants will be informed of the pre-selection decision during the following week. The Selection Committee will interview the pre-selected applicants at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation during May. 7

8 The selected applicants must send the authorizations provided by their Institution and Service Director by to or by post to Av. Berna 45-A, Lisboa, making reference to the Gulbenkian Programme for Advanced Medical Education. For further information, please contact the Programme s administrative staff by pgfmedica@gulbenkian.pt or by phone F A Q If I commit myself to the Programme can I keep my job at my Health Unit? Your contract guarantee depends exclusively on your Institutional Board and your Service Director. Since the Programme will grant you a 4-year scholarship, you can ask your superiors to grant you unpaid leave during the duration of the Programme. If you are an Intern, please note that the present legislation (Law No. 60/2007, of 13 March, issued by the Ministry of Health, and Law No. 172/2008, of 15 February, issued by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education) allows for the suspension of internships so that applicants can attend doctoral programmes in clinical research. However, we emphasize the need to obtain the authorization of your Service Director before you can be accepted in this Programme. Does my full-time attendance of the Programme prevent me from having any other clinical occupation? The demanding of full-time attendance of the Programme is a strictly pedagogical concern, not a bureaucratic imposition. It offers you the chance to focus totally on the training component and on your research project. The graduate courses are extremely intensive and not compatible with an ongoing clinical activity. Therefore, if 8

9 you are to complete the curricular Programme successfully, you will not be able to participate in outside working activities. Subsequently, whether or not you will maintain clinical activities depends entirely on your research project. If you decide, for example, to engage in a highly demanding "mechanism of disease" type of project, requiring complex laboratory techniques, it is unlikely, if not impossible, that you will have extra-time for clinical practice. Should you choose instead a pure clinicalresearch project patients will be, by definition, the subject of your research. In this case, you must be aware that as a full-time student you will not be allowed to undertake clinical activities other than those necessary for your project. Is it mandatory to move abroad for my research work? Students from all PhD Programs launched by the Gulbenkian Foundation are encouraged to freely choose both their field of work and the host institutions in which it will be pursued, providing that the latter offer optimal conditions for the success of the project. As the latter aspect is a crucial one, should your research topic require specific conditions not yet available in Portugal, you will be expected to choose the appropriate place in the world. This is the reason why the Selection Committee will enquire about your personal availability to move abroad after completion of the graduate courses. 9