EU-ACME Programme: Elevating Urology Education Across Europe
To this day, the EU-ACME Programme boasts over 17,000 participants and counting! Its impact continues to grow, resonating with national and international societies alike. With the surge in accreditation requests for both national and international activities, it’s clear that individual medical professionals are increasingly recognizing the significance of this initiative.
Founded in 2004, the European Association of Urology (EAU) and the European Board of Urology (EBU) joined forces to promote Continuing Medical Education (CME) and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) among all urologists in Europe, forming the EU-ACME (European Urology – Accredited Continuing Medical Education).
Expanding its horizon, the EU-ACME Programme extended its services in 2021 to include urology nurses through collaboration with the European Association of Urology Nurses (EAUN).
Why Choose CPD/CME/CNE?
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Continuous Professional Growth: CPD, CME, and Continuing Nursing Education (CNE) are essential tools for ongoing development, helping doctors maintain and elevate their knowledge within their medical specialty.
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Broadening Horizons: These programmes foster both personal and professional growth, enriching the medical professionals’ experiences post-graduation.
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Enhanced Patient Care: Most importantly, CPD/CME/CNE enhances the quality of patient care by consistently improving skills, expanding professional perspectives, and keeping medical professionals abreast of the latest scientific advancements.
EU-ACME
In order to achieve the above-mentioned goals, the EBU first instituted a credit system to control CME activities of specialists.
The system, applied to CME, was inaugurated in July 1998, at a European School of Urology (ESU) Course in Lisbon, as a pilot study.
The European Board of Urology (EBU) and the European Association of Urology (EAU) have joined forces to promote CME and CPD amongst all urologists in Europe by founding a new committee – the European Urology- Accredited Continuing Medical Education (EU-ACME), defining the EU-ACME programme and by establishing the EU-ACME office.
Prof. Dr. Helmut Madersbacher was appointed as a chair of the EU-ACME committee.
The first activity accredited within the EU-ACME programme was the Second joint meeting of ESPU and AAP held in Uppsala from June 15th-18th, 2005. This was a great success!
The first accredited activity with organised attendance control through scanning the EU-ACME membership cards was the 7th Ankara Uro-Oncology Course held in Turkey from September 22nd-25th, 2005.
Members of the EU-ACME committee endorsed the Consensus Statement for Independence and Funding of Continuing Medical Education(CME)/Continuing Professional Development (CPD) at the meeting, which took place on June 15th, 2018.
The EU-ACME joined the International Academy for CPD Accreditation – a network of colleagues, dedicated to promoting and enhancing continuing professional development (CPD) accreditation systems throughout the world. It is also devoted to supporting the development, implementation, and evolution of CPD and continuing medical education (CME) accreditation systems.
Cooperation with the European Board of Paediatric Urology (EBPU).
The ESPU-Learn – PUV & Stone Webinar, which took place on 11-12 December 2020, was the first event accredited within the EU-ACME programme by the European Board of Paediatric Urology.
The EU-ACME programme opens for urology nurses through cooperation with the European Association of Urology Nurses (EAUN)
The EAUNwebinar: COVID-19 pandemic and bladder cancer care on 21 January 2021 was the first accredited event within the EU-ACME programme.