Specialty training – European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS)

ESCMID fosters an ongoing collaboration with the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS) for enhanced training in the fields of Clinical Microbiology (CM) and Infectious Diseases (ID). UEMS is the oldest medical organisation in Europe, focused on setting high-quality standards for healthcare practice, advocacy, and specialist accreditations

About

The UEMS firmly believes that quality of care is directly linked to the quality of training provided to healthcare professionals. Committed to elevating medical training standards across Europe, the UEMS has taken significant steps towards achieving this mission with the development of published training curricula for CM and ID experts, serving as models for national training curricula in these specialties. 

Main UEMS - Medical Specialties

UEMS Section of Medical Microbiology

ESCMID and the UEMS Section of Medical Microbiology worked together to create a European exam in Medical/Clinical Microbiology. With an ambition of harmonisation, a partnership was formed between the UEMS the oldest pan-European medical organisation and ESCMID the largest scientific society for CM and ID professionals. ESCMID is proud of this cooperation and what it means for the future of CM and ID.

2nd UEMS European Examination in Medical Microbiology, supported by ESCMID.

Exam date: 3 December 2024: 12:00-14:00 CET.
Where: Online with remote invigilation

Registration: now open - closed

The UEMS Section of Medical Microbiology, in partnership with ESCMID, is pleased to announce the date for the next European examination in Medical Microbiology.

The examination is based on the curriculum which is part of the UEMS Core Training Programme of Medical Microbiology, current European best practice guidelines and recent pivotal publications in the major journals.

This exam fee is 500 EUR. There is a 50 % reduction in the exam fee for candidates who have participated in the PILOT exam in 2021, so their fee will be 250 EUR. The first 20 candidates to register, who have not sat the PILOT exam, will be offered a grant to reduce the fee by 40%, making their fee 300 EUR. 

Only one reduction is allowed per candidate. The exam fee payment can be made after the candidate is notified that they meet the eligibility criteria and their application to sit the exam has been accepted. Payment instructions will follow on the registration platform.

The question format will be multiple choice, in the single-best-answer format. The questions will be in English only.

The exam is open to:  

  • Medical doctors
  • Trainees or consultants in medical microbiology
  • Persons training in a country that is a full member, associate member or observer member of UEMS. The list of countries is accessible on uems.eu
  • Persons who have completed a minimum of 42 months (3.5 years) of full-time training in medical microbiology as a doctor and is endorsed by two referees, where at least one should be the trainer or supervisor. 

Acceptance of the application is based on the above eligibility criteria.

The European Examination in Medical Microbiology is organised and managed by UEMS Section of Medical Microbiology, with the support of and in cooperation with ESCMID. The UEMS is a European organisation for medical specialists (medical doctors), and can hence only develop training requirements for medical doctors.

For registration please use this link to the iCognitus registration platform

Proof of eligibility will be required as part of the application process.
Eligibility will be determined by the completed application form and valid accompanied documentation.
The notification and eligibility terms and conditions are accessible via links to the webpage of UEMS section Medical Microbiology

Contact by email: medicalmicrobiology.exam[at]quiz.one

ESCMID is pleased to offer training courses that follow the specially crafted UEMS curricula. Tailored to experts in Medical Microbiology, the courses can be downloaded here.

UEMS MM curriculum submitted European Council 2017.09.21

UEMS Section of Infectious Diseases

The UEMS-ID will pilot the Specialist Certificate examination in Infectious Diseases in January 2025.  This exam is supported by ESCMID.  The pilot exam will not result in any award or certificate.  Candidates will receive a grade and detailed feedback on areas of strength and weaknesses.  In future years successful exam participants will receive the European specialist certificate in Infectious Diseases. 

UEMS-ID / ESCMID Specialist Certificate Pilot Examination 2024/25 

Date/Time: 18 January 2025 Exam starts between 10:00 –11:30 (Candidates will book a slot to start the exam during that time) 
Exam duration: 3 hours
Location: Online 
Registration: Now open (closes 18 December 2024) 
Notification of eligible candidates: 31 December 2024 

ESCMID and the UEMS Section of Infectious Diseases are working together to make a European Examination in Infectious Diseases become a reality. The exam has been developed with the UEMS – ID European Standards in Medical Training, that can be viewed below: 

Training Curriculum for Infectious Diseases

The fee for the pilot exam will be 50 EUR per candidate. This cost may be recoverable from your national training body. ESCMID is offering financial support that will be administered via the UEMS-ID. Candidates who are ESCMID members will be eligible for a partial or total refund depending on the number of candidates.

The exam will be in English only. Questions will be multiple choice questions with a single best answer. There will be 100 questions in the pilot exam spread across the domains reflecting the European Training Curriculum in Infectious Diseases.

2024_Information-about-Exam.pdf

The exam is open to candidates meeting all the following three criteria: 

  • Medical doctors
  • Trainees or consultants in infectious diseases
  • Persons training in a country that is a full member, associate member or observer member of UEMS. The list of countries is accessible on uems.eu

Registration is possible through the registration site. Proof of eligibility will be required as part of the application process. Eligibility will be determined by the completed application form and valid accompanied documentation. The link will be open from October 2024.

Contact by email: Infectiousdiseases(at)uems.eu

ESCMID is also pleased to offer training courses for ID and CM specialists, following the curricula specially created by UEMS. 
These curricula can be downloaded here:

Training_Curriculum_for_Infectious_dieseases.pdf

1. Why have an exam?

UEMS aims to develop the study, promotion and harmonisation of the highest level of training of the medical specialists, medical practice and health care within the European Union. Offering an exam is a pillar of this vision. The exam can be used as a formative exam, candidates will get detailed breakdown of areas of strength or weakness to enable them to address training needs. This exam will not replace national exams but will eventually be a summative exam resulting in a European Specialist Certificate when the full exam launches. A pan-Europe examination offers the ability to promote and develop the specialty and show standards across the continent and potentially beyond. Aggregated results from the exam will also be provided to ESCMID to enable development of educational activities to support training.

2. How will the exam be run?

The exam will be an online-only exam run in collaboration with experienced professional providers of postgraduate medical examinations. You can take the exam from your own home or workplace. There will be online supervision of all candidates.

3. What format will the exam be?

The exam will be in English only. Questions will be multiple choice questions with a single best answer. There will be 100 questions in the pilot exam spread across the following domains reflecting the European Training Curriculum in Infectious Diseases:

  • Community acquired infections
  • Management of longer-term conditions (TB, hepatitis B and C, HIV)
  • Healthcare-associated infections, antimicrobial stewardship, antimicrobial resistance
  • Infection prevention and control
  • Non–HIV immunocompromised patients (including transplant, cancer, neutropenic, treatment with biological products, implants etc.)
  • Device-related infections (prosthetic joint infection, prosthetic valve endocarditis, TAVI-IE, cardiac implantable device infections, catheter, etc.)
  • Imported infections, health advice for travellers, infection-related problems of immigrants
  • Public health in relation to infection, outbreaks and surveillance, vaccination
  • Use of microbiology laboratory technique, understanding laboratory reporting and process
  • Research and audit methodology  

4. How has the exam been developed?

ESCMID members across Europe have submitted questions across a range of domains. Questions have been reviewed by the UEMS-ID exam board for clarity and standard setting.

5. How will results be handed?

Individual results will only be shared with individual candidates along with breakdown of areas answered and ranking across the whole exam sitting. Aggregated anonymous results will be provided to ESCMID to enable development of educational activities to support training.