Needs, education and accreditation in occupational medicine in Italy

In Europe, continuing medical education is one of the main instruments for improving physicians' performance and ensuring adequate health care for citizens. Recent regulations have made such continuing education compulsory in Italy. The national health plan for 2003–2005, recently issued by the Italian Ministry of Health, states that: ‘‘Continuing education in medicine (CEM), i.e. on-the-job training for healthcare professionals, must maintain their level of competence in order to benefit society at large. As such, continuing education is an element for safeguarding social justice and reinforces the concepts of individual and collective responsibility inherent in any activity to protect and promote the health of the population’’ Thus in Italy, as in other European countries, continuing education is considered one of the main instruments for improving the performance of healthcare professionals Considering the particular features of occupational medicine, the Italian Society of Industrial Medicine and Industrial Hygiene (S.I.M.L.I.I.) recently set up a specific education and accreditation programme for occupational physicians, called the "Excellence Accreditation Scheme". The programme is based on the findings of a survey among occupational physicians, carried out in collaboration with the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Prevention (I.S.P.E.S.L.), which enquired into their training and continuing education needs. The programme started in 2003, and its first edition-presented here-involved more than 400 physicians specialising in occupational health. In conclusion, the programme of continuing education and accreditation in occupational medicine is a complex process developed by S.I.M.L.I.I. It confirms the validity of efforts to define training needs, and the high-quality educational programme has obtained the approval of Italian occupational physicians.