As on previous occasions, BIREME was present at the VI International Congress of Medical Education promoted by the Asociación Peruana de Facultades de Medicina (ASPEFAM), from May 25th to 29th of this year. The event, developed in an innovative way to meet current challenges regarding the virtual format, had the participation of 1,500 attendees from different countries of the Americas and mainly from Peru, with a program that included pre-congress courses, stands, international meetings, symposiums, and keynote addresses.
The event was inaugurated with the keynote address “Changes in Medical Education and Medical Practice,” by Jarbas Barbosa, PAHO/WHO Deputy Director, who emphasized the importance of strengthening medical education to achieve universal health. The event also had the participation of other consultants of the Organization such as Oscar Mujica, Hernan Sepúlveda, and Carlos Arosquipa, who highlighted the relevance of universities and training centers for health professionals, to improve health systems and move towards universal health; and Diego González, Director of BIREME, in the workshop “Medical Competences and Simulation”, where he presented information resources for decision-making in health.
To reinforce the support and presence of PAHO/WHO in the event, both the country office and BIREME were present throughout the event with a stand each, to display publications, products and services, made available to health personnel.
BIREME’s stand, highlighting the PAHO/WHO specialized center in scientific-technical information, was monitored by the collaborators Elizabeth Biruel and Rosemeire Pinto, both from the Unit of Information Sources Management. Flyers of BIREME’s main products, the Virtual Health Library, the Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences and the Health Sciences Descriptors (VHL, LILACS and DeCS), and the MyVHL and e-BlueInfo apps were exhibited, as well as other materials. Likewise, access to BIREME’s social networks (Facebook and Twitter) and to the institutional page of the Center was facilitated. Moreover, videos about BIREME, search on the VHL; and about the Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine Virtual Health Library, TCMI VHL were also presented in the stand).
A promotional video showing the mission, work strategies, and main products and services was also available to the Congress participants.
The visits to the stand were attended synchronously, with differentiated and personalized attention for each need. The methodology for the interaction was initiated by sending more than 200 individual invitations, via chat, including a basic explanation of the main services. The main queries were related to the ways to access services and products, as well as the Scholarly Communication and the Access and Use of Information courses.
The Executive Secretary of ASPEFAM, Manuel Núñez Vergara stated, “I appreciate the support and participation of BIREME in the VI CIEM and this commitment has been witnessed through the participation of its Director, Diego González, who was one of the speakers. In particular, I highlight the contribution of BIREME, with its recently renewed LILACS and DeCS resources, which today allow access to quality information relevant to our national and regional context, making visible the scientific production that is carried out, but more importantly, allowing the application of this information to identify and solve national problems”. He continued stating that, “a new stage aimed at strengthening collaboration between BIREME and the medical schools of Peru is reaffirmed at the same time, placing the access and use of scientific information as a fundamental element for the construction of a health system for everyone”.
According to Diego González, Director of BIREME, “ASPEFAM can always count on the presence of the Center in its congresses and in the daily operation of the Association. We believe that being able to reach the students of 30 Medical Schools in the country with our products and services will show that we are working to promote a culture of decision-making based on evidence and this is related to BIREME’s mission”.
Links of interest
Promotional video in commemoration of BIREME’s fiftieth anniversary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8k-u04I3qqs
Video – VHL search guide https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjYqNP2rdNs
Video of dissemination and promotion of the Virtual Health Library in Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicines for the Americas (MTCI Americas VHL) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRE2ZNgy0vA&t=8s
OPS/OMS. VI Congreso Internacional de Educación Médica. https://www.paho.org/es/noticias/1-6-2021-vi-congreso-internacional-educacion-medica
