TMA had the pleasure to host the heads of Center of Innovation in Medical Education (CIMED) Professor Joke Denekens and Professor Herman Van Rossum (Antwerp / Belgium). During the five-day working visit, the experts met with the heads of educational programs, members of the curriculum committee, representatives of the Scientific-Research Department, and students and talked about the existing challenges, achievements, and future plans. They also conducted training and workshops for TMA lecturers.

I Day

Integration Week Activities

During the visit, the leaders of the center attended the weekly integration activities of the module (Normal Structure and Function - Anatomy, Histology, Physiology): student meetings with a real patient, clinical reasoning, and team-based learning (TBL). Students and teachers were interviewed about the challenges of Integration Week.

II Day

Training / Workshop on the topic - Creating integrated cases and assignments

The purpose of the workshop was to harmonize the learning process within the integrated modules. The meeting was attended by teachers implementing integrated modules (teachers of basic training courses) and teachers implementing clinical training courses. They had the opportunity to work as a team on integrated assignments and receive feedback from both Georgian and Belgian colleagues.

III Day

Training on " Clinical Reasoning - An integral component of the clinical line of the educational program"

The training aimed to introduce lecturers to clinical reasoning as an integral part of the clinical line of the educational program. The leaders of the center introduced the concept of clinical reasoning to the audience and based on the presented examples discussed with them how students can integrate the theory and basic concepts of clinical reasoning.

The meeting was attended by teachers implementing clinical training courses.

IV Day

Workshop with portfolio mentors

The purpose of the workshop was to share the achievements and challenges within the portfolio. The meeting was attended by portfolio mentors, they talked about the challenges they encountered in the process of working on the portfolio, outlined ways to solve them, and shared experiences.

The portfolio is an innovative method of teaching and assessment in the TMA curriculum.

V Day

The visit of the heads of the CIMED Center ended with a symposium. The guests spoke about the importance of a patient and student-centered, integrated education program (PSI Curriculum), summarized the activities carried out by the Center of Innovation in Medical Education during the year and their visit, and outlined plans.

The Center of Innovation in Medical Education (CIMED) was established in the spring of 2021. It is a structural unit of TMA, which carries out its activities in different directions: introduction of innovative teaching-learning strategies in the process of updating educational programs, implementation of self-directed learning based on student work, etc. The center is headed by Professor Joke Denekens and Professor Herman Van Rossum (Antwerp / Belgium). The center also includes representatives of the TMA academic staff - Ekaterine Kldiashvili, Mariam Maglakelidze, Tsisana Lomashvili, Maka Zarnadze, Ia Khakhutaishvili, Salome Khubulava, Dea Goderdzishvili.