What is the ECIM?
The European Certificate of Internal Medicine (ECIM) is currently being developed by the European Board of Internal Medicine (EBIM). It is a process designed to confirm the candidateās suitability for independent practice as an Internist as benchmarked against the Internal Medicine curriculum created by (EBIM):
http://www.efim.org/system/files/downloads/efim_eu_curriculum.pdf
The certification assesses the skills and behaviors necessary for the clinical practice of Internal Medicine at the level of the specialist or consultant engaged in independent practice.
Why apply for the ECIM?
The European Board of Internal Medicine (EBIM) acknowledges the European Union directive that regulates the free movement of professionals within the European Union based on harmonized minimum training requirements and the transparent recognition of professional qualifications (Directive 2005/36/EC, amended 2013/55/EC). The EBIM, therefore, recognizes the need for a core European competency-based curriculum of Internal Medicine. In view of the developments outlined above, EBIM has generated a curriculum to guide postgraduate education in the specialty of internal medicine. The curriculum presents the minimum training requirements for the qualification as a specialist in internal medicine. National authorities may supplement the recommendations in the European curriculum with the additional training and assessments that they deem relevant to their own training program structure.
A European certificate in Internal Medicine does not provide evidence of competency in Internal Medicine but evidence of fulfilling the criteria of training as laid out in the European Curriculum of Internal Medicine.
It is the future aim of EBIM to create a knowledge-based formative assessment that, along with this certificate, will lead to a European Diploma of Internal Medicine (EDIM). There are clear future advantages to the individual of success in holding the EDIM:
- Institutions may elect to require success in the EDIM for specialist/ consultant appointment.
- Institutions may utilise success in the EDIM to differentiate between two applicants for the same post
- Training authorities may use the EDIM (preparation and success) as part of the criteria for the accreditation process of training sites
- Individual departments may use success as a marker for promotion, e.g. for the successful candidate to be promoted to head of the department
- Countries without an existing formal exit exam may choose to use the EDIM as their final exam for completion of training.
- Training programmes may use success in the EDIM to validate their training programme
Application form (under development)
It is the aim of EBIM to have this application form available in the second half of 2022