[POSTGRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN ISRAEL].

The Covid-19 pandemic has posed significant challenges to many aspects of life, including work processes to which we have become accustomed. Health systems world-wide have been affected in numerous ways and face epic and unprecedented challenges. Medical education, both in Israel and around the world, has been deeply impacted.

[RESIDENCY EXAMINATIONS IN THE COURSE OF THE COVID-19 CRISIS: THE EFFORTS OF THE ISRAELI SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL TO EXECUTE THE FINAL BOARD ORAL EXAMINATIONS DURING A LOCAL AND A WORLDWIDE PANDEMIC].

Introduction: The Israeli Scientific Council is responsible for the physician's training process and the residency exams. These are performed in two phases: Stage A (written examination) and Stage B (the final Board oral examination). The COVID-19 pandemic started in Israel a few weeks before the scheduled spring 2020 Stage B exams and had a major impact, not only on the health and economic systems in Israel, but also on the residency exams.

[POSTGRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION ACCREDITATION IN ISRAEL].

Accreditation of Post-Graduate Medical Education permits medical institutions to train residents, allowing them to achieve specialist certification. An accreditation system usually employs several tools such as site-visits, information gathering and occasionally self-evaluation, to determine adherence to pre-defined standards. The Scientific Council of the Israeli Medical Association is entrusted by law on this accreditation system in Israel.

[HOW DOES A NEW MEDICAL PROFESSION COME TO LIFE?].

Aims: In our article we seek to describe the initiation of new medical specialty fields in Israel, including the different considerations in the decision-making process and recent trends.

Background: Physicians' specialization by postgraduate training and specialty certification satisfies the publics' need for high quality medical treatment, supports medical institutions confidence in their medical staff qualifications, guarantees physicians' social accountability and is also linked with positive medical results. Nevertheless, fragmentation of medicine enfolds a hazard to continuity of medical care and loss of holistic perspectives, as well as hazards of systematic malfunction such as brain drain in vital basic specialties and high costs.

[POSTGRADUATE TRAINING IS OUR SPECIALTY].

In recent years, following public expectations for high quality medical care and a teaching system that can adapt to public needs, changes are being implemented in medical education. The Scientific Council of the Israeli Medical Association (IMA) is responsible, under the Physicians Ordinance, for the planning and supervision of the physicians' specialization system in Israel and promotes post graduate medical education of the highest quality for the advancement of medicine in Israel. In this issue, we highlight the key goals of medical education: knowledge acquisition, skills imparting and application of professional values, as well as the different tasks the Scientific Council has undertaken in order to advance them.

Accreditation systems for Postgraduate Medical Education: a comparison of five countries.

There is a widespread consensus about the need for accreditation systems for evaluating post-graduate medical education programs, but accreditation systems differ substantially across countries. A cross-country comparison of accreditation systems could provide valuable input into policy development processes. We reviewed the accreditation systems of five countries: The United States, Canada, The United Kingdom, Germany and Israel.

[Mentoring newly appointed department heads--a new project review and initial findings].

Background: In Israel, the training of a department head is based mostly on clinical and professional aspects and often does not include any training in other facets of management he or she will encounter. The newly appointed department head is expected from the start to deal with many diverse tasks, and is exposed to great physical and emotional stress. The Israeli Medical Association, taking note of this situation, initiated a mentoring program for newly appointed heads of medical departments, clinics and units.

[Basic research during residency in Israel: is change needed?].

A six-month research period is a mandatory part of the residency training program in most basic specialties in Israel and is named: the "basic science period". This is the only period in an Israeli physician's medical career which is dedicated strictly to research, accentuating the importance of medical research to the quality of training and level of medicine in Israel. From another point of view, one may argue that in an era of shortage of physicians on the one hand and the dizzying rate of growth in medical knowledge on the other hand, every moment spent training in residency is precious, therefore, making the decision of whether to dedicate six months for research becomes ever more relevant.

[Part-time residency training in Israel].

Full-time work has long been perceived as a cornerstone of medical residency, the consensus being that a resident must apply the bulk of his time and attention to his professional training. Demographic and cultural changes that have taken place over the last several years, specifically the rise in the number of female doctors and the importance of leisure time to the younger generation, have intensified the need to find new and innovative ways to deal with the plight of the resident population. One idea, already in effect in many Western countries, is the institution of part-time residency programs.

Genetic testing for enzymes of drug metabolism: does it have clinical utility for pain medicine at the present time? A structured review.

Study Design: This is a structured review of genomic (genetic) testing for enzymes of drug metabolism.

Objectives: Recently, industry began offering genomic testing for enzymes of drug metabolism. As such, the objective of this review was to determine if genomic testing for enzymes of drug metabolism has any imminent clinical relevance for the practice of pain medicine.