IDEAL+ stands for Infectious Diseases – Education through Active Learning. It’s a unique comprehensive programme on intercultural medical education through the scope of Infectious Diseases. IDEAL+ is a multiple-target project (undergraduate medical students, senior and junior European medical health educators and on a wider scale professionals and teachers from other disciplines, interested in innovative teaching methods) that tackles multi-level issues, from Infectious Diseases (ID) challenges to current medical higher education challenges. Infectious Diseases (ID) are a key challenge of the century and remain the second most important cause of death worldwide, with re-emerging pathogens like measles, and emerging of multi-resistant pathogens making previous simple infections a challenge to treat. To tackle these challenges, the physicians of tomorrow must be properly trained to diagnoses, decision-making, antibiotic stewardship and prevention during undergraduate medical studies. In most European countries, students are predominantly trained through ex cathedra lectures that do not sufficiently prepare them for these basic skills that cut across most medical specialties. Indeed, most medical educators are not trained to the teaching practices that could adequately address these key competences. The IDEAL+ projects is developing 3 complementary teaching approaches: An annual 3-day Teacher Training Seminar [WP1] for junior and mid-career faculty members of six ID teaching partner institutions, organized by four medical education teaching partners. In IDEAL+ we strongly believe that training the trainers is a core issue of tomorrow’s higher education, particularly in the field of medicine. We are confident that sharing good practices across Europe on innovative teaching methods is the best way to address the challenges of a globalized and modernized higher education. This seminar will train the trainers from partner institutions in teaching and learning techniques, and also, on a meta level, guide them in faculty development initiatives within their own institutions. Techniques will include hands-on methods such as team-based learning, problem-based learning, flipped classroom, case-based learning, serious games and simulation. These approaches, focused on clinical reasoning and practice, will address students’ needs. This new generation of trainers will then put into practice these techniques within the Student Infectious Diseases training courses [WP2] and the production of e-learning tools [WP3] An annual 5-day Student ID Training Course for medical students in each ID teaching partnering institutions [WP2]. Given that in European Schools of Medicine student mobility (such as the Erasmus programme) might be very difficult due to the variety of European medical curriculum, we decided with IDEAL + to foster internationalization at their home University. Hence students will benefit from an international intensive course during one week, with teachers from 6 different institutions teaching in their home University. The transmission of theoretical knowledge will move from frontal lectures to self-directed learning utilising digital resources. Thus, the ID training course will focus on hands-on training methods (case-based learning, simulation, serious games, team-based sessions, working groups with presentations, response moments, bedside teaching, etc) allowing the development of new skills among students especially case-based discussions, team-work, and communication skills. A digital learning platform providing a complete set of educational resources for ID teachers and students on an open source website, using social media to disseminate these resources to other trainers and students [WP3]. IDEAL+ will deliver digital resources on: - Infectious Diseases for undergraduate students. The open source digital resources will be available on a dedicated platform and used (i) as a prerequisite for students attending the ID training course [WP2], but also (ii) as self-directed learning tool to anyone interested. -Innovative education tools and methods for Medical educators. The open source digital resources will be available on a dedicated platform to Medical educators from the programme and beyond. In addition, ID educators will share a toolbox of specific hands-on resources in English for undergraduate ID teaching (built as a part of the programme, based on innovative teaching methods). Altogether IDEAL+ will provide expert-based trainers’ training, including options for a distance education and disseminate innovative tools for undergraduate ID teaching throughout Europe.
The long-term objective of the project is to develop: - a seminar on innovative teaching methods for European medical educators [WP1]; - a week of practical courses in infectious diseases for European undergraduate students using active learning approaches using the methods taught in WP1 [WP2]; - A digital learning platform with educational resources for teachers and students on an open source website to disseminate these resources to other trainers and students [WP3]. Which has allowed to: - develop knowledge on infectious diseases and antibiotic delivery among European students, renew and improve teaching approaches - better prepare physicians for the challenges of infectious diseases in their daily practice - improve the teaching skills of European medical educators - develop open source tools and digital teaching that emphasise self-directed learning, improve knowledge exchange between European medical educators and create an online platform to attract users from diverse backgrounds
IDEAL+ is a programme that aims to improve European medical education through the lens of infectious diseases in an intercultural and practice-oriented approach. The programme is aimed at multiple targets (undergraduate students, junior/senior health educators, professionals, teachers from other disciplines interested in innovative teaching techniques) that address the challenge of teaching infectious diseases. Infectious diseases are the second leading cause of death worldwide, with the massive return of known pathogens such as measles, the emergence of multi-drug resistant pathogens, and the emergence of new viruses capable of disrupting our entire communities such as the SARSCov2 virus. Tomorrow's doctors must be properly trained in diagnosis, decision-making, antibiotic administration and prevention of these infections from undergraduate level. Most students in European countries are trained through lectures, which are not sufficient to prepare them for the minimum skills needed in any specialty. Medical teachers are not trained in the necessary practical skills. IDEAL+ provides expertly prepared training, with options for distance learning and disseminates innovative tools for teaching undergraduate students.