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The SPES (Primary Care, Environment, and Health) program is a training program offered by the Department of General Medicine at the Montpellier-Nîmes School of Medicine.
The start of the school year is often a time for reflection and renewal. It’s a time when many people think about their future prospects—the perfect opportunity to explore continuing education options! To mark the occasion, we’d like to introduce you to one of our 198 university diplomas (DU) and inter-university diplomas (DIU): the DU on “From Normal Cells to Tumor Cells.” To do so, we sat down with the two co-directors of this program, Ms. Szablewski and Mr. Ramirez. Interview.
Ms. Szablewski, Mr. Ramirez, good morning. Could you briefly introduce yourselves?
VS: I am Dr. Vanessa Szablewski, MCU-PH in Pathological Anatomy and Cytology at the Montpellier University Hospital. I specialize in hematopathology and ENT pathology. For my research, I am affiliated withINSERM UMR 1058, “Pathogenesis and Control of Chronic and Emerging Infections.” My research focuses on the role of human papillomaviruses (HPVs) in cancers of the head and neck region.
JMR: I have held a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences for Health since 2005. After completing my dissertation, I conducted several postdoctoral fellowships abroad—in Washington, D.C., in the United States; at the University Hospital of Geneva in Switzerland; and at the CIC (Centro de Investigación contra el Cáncer) in Spain—before finally returning to France to join the IRMB in Montpellier. In 2015, I was hired as an associate professor at the Montpellier-Nîmes School of Medicine in Professor Thierry Lavabre-Bertrand’s department, where I teach histology and cell biology. In 2019, Vanessa and I created the first website featuring virtual slides that combines three disciplines: anatomy, pathological anatomy, and histology.
You are both directors of the university certificate program “From Normal Cells to Tumor Cells.” What motivated you to create this program?
JMR: Histology and pathological anatomy are two closely related disciplines; it seemed to me that it is essential for a researcher in the field of health to be familiar not only with histology (the study of tissues) but also with pathological tissues.
Who is this training primarily intended for? How long does it last?
VS: This program is intended for all researchers working in the field of oncology, as well as those who wish to learn about human body tissues and the diseases associated with them. It is also designed for physicians who wish to pursue a career in research or for oncologists who wish to acquire a solid foundation in scientific oncology. The program spans one academic year, with classes held between February and June. The curriculum includes 52 hours of instruction, divided into 6 modules.
What added value will future graduates gain from this program? Does it open up new career paths for enrolled students?
JMR: The primary benefits are, first and foremost, the acquisition of new fundamental skills that will better equip future physicians or researchers in the field of oncology to perform their duties. Second, for all future physicians, it enables them to better interpret medical findings provided by a physician specializing in pathological anatomy.
Older adults account for more than 20% of the French population (Source: INSEE 2020), yet the aging process remains poorly understood. Thanks to the simulation tools offered in this innovative workshop, participants will be able to “jump forward” several years in time. This will allow them to hone, through experience, their skills in supporting older adults.
Why this workshop?
This workshop, offered by the School of Geriatrics and Gerontology, was created to allow participants to experience the major impairments associated with aging.
It is led by its administrative director, Myriam Taroudjit, and Marie-Laure Portalez, a design engineer.
Special equipment allows participants to experience firsthand the main age-related sensory impairments. This helps them recognize the challenges faced by older adults and better understand their behaviors and specific needs.
“True experiential learning aimed at improving the quality of life for older adults”
The effectiveness of this simulation-based method was the subject of a study conducted by medical students at Julius-Maximilians University in Würzburg (Dr. med. Filz S.A., Dr. med. Swoboda W., et al.).
The research, conducted in the form of hands-on training sessions that involved wearing a simulation suit, yielded the following results:
- Ability to empathize with the living conditions of an older adult after the practicum: 83% of participants.
- Ability to put oneself in the shoes of an older adult after the practicum: 90% of participants.
- Understanding of an older adult’s physical condition after the practicum: 95% of participants
How?
Using simulation scenarios composed of several elements, participants put themselves in the shoes of an older adult by experiencing the physical and emotional challenges associated with aging.
Here are a few examples:
Feedback from Our Students
Every year, this innovative workshop is offered to students at the School to supplement their curriculum and deepen their understanding of older adults. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive:
Stéphanie: “This workshop was very interesting, and everyone who works with older adults should be able to participate in this simulation workshop. Losing one’s senses is very unsettling.”
Mariam: “This afternoon, I experienced firsthand what the older adults I care for go through every day: muscle pain, hearing and vision problems, and slowed movements—all caused by an environment that is no longer safe for them to navigate.”
Maïlys: “In a professional setting, I’ll pay even closer attention to these ‘pains’ and how people experience and cope with them in their daily lives, so I can best tailor my responses to their needs.”
More photos:
As discussions about student mental health have resurfaced in the wake of the health crisis and amid reforms to graduate-level programs, our faculty teams have developed—in collaboration with students and service users—a one-of-a-kind educational concept. Temporarily titled “Interpersonal Skills and Therapeutic Communication,” this empathy-focused curriculum represents a true ethical and pedagogical innovation. To learn more, we spoke with the project’s leaders: Dr. Amandine Luquiens and Prof. Céline Bourgier, as well as Théo Lacoste, a student member of the steering committee.
The Origins of a Project Centered on Empathy
A need for evaluation arising from the R2C evaluation procedures
In 2018, the proposed reform of the second cycle of medical studies (R2C) was presented to the various academic administrators at the Faculty, prompting Professor Céline Bourgier to take notice. She noted that, under the R2C, student assessment would focus, among other things, on evaluating students’ interpersonal skills and empathy through the Certificate of Clinical Competencies (C3). However, at that time, our curriculum did not include any courses entirely dedicated to developing this competency.
Joined in 2019 by Dr. Amandine Luquiens, a psychiatrist specializing in addiction at the Nîmes University Hospital, the two doctors will therefore team up to lead the project to develop an innovative teaching unit capable of meeting the requirements of R2C. Their first step is to study the current level of empathy among medical students.
A striking finding: medical students’ empathy declines as they progress through their studies
Their initial findings are surprising. In fact, as they conducted their literature review, the two researchers discovered that medical students tend to experience a decline in empathy throughout their studies. “This decline begins at the same time as hospital rotations. It appears that the gap between the ‘idealized view of the healthcare profession’ and the ‘reality of the healthcare profession’ is a triggering factor,” – explains Amandine Luquiens
Another observation: this decline is very strongly correlated with the burnout and depression issues that health science students may experience.
A structured educational program to halt this decline and ensure higher-quality care in the future
These findings have motivated the project leaders to create a new, innovative teaching unit (UE) with a twofold objective:
- To provide students with the tools and skills necessary to improve the quality of careby instilling in them a person-centered approach rather than focusing solely on symptoms or medical conditions
- Preventing psychosocial risks—not only for patients, but also for students—future healthcare professionals.
These two complementary elements will therefore be developed jointly by a dedicated committee composed of faculty, students, and users.
An EU built collaboratively to foster skills related to empathy toward oneself and toward patients
Stages in the Development of the EU
Such an EU requires a period of development followed by a trial phase, which will be implemented within the Faculty in five major stages:
An EU structured to facilitate students’ learning about emotion management
As Théo Lacoste, Student Vice Dean for 21-22, points out, medical students are “perfectionists”: “They are selected because they are the best. And this selection process continues throughout their years in school. The need to be—or at least to appear—‘flawless’ at every level—whether professionally or emotionally—persists until it becomes an almost cultural component of our way of thinking.”
However, it is precisely a process of acculturation on this subject that this course unit is intended to foster: Amandine Luquiens explains: “We are seeking to foster this awareness among students—and even within the Faculty as a whole. The Faculty takes care of its students, and students must take care of themselves. We will thus help them acquire tools that enable them both to protect themselves and to curb ‘emotional suppression’—a management strategy that doctors have been using for many years to address the patient-caregiver relationship.”
PTo achieve this goal, the EU is organized around four major components, all of which are mandatory:
- Introduction to Meditation Mindfulness Meditation
- Sharing Best Practices among peers: This module encourages open discussion and also helps participants better understand professional communication within a healthcare team
- Therapeutic Communication : a multi-year module featuring theoretical instruction on communication, theater workshops, and simulation exercises.
- Stigmatization in Healthcare : a module featuring user testimonials in which individuals share with students their personal experiences with situations they have encountered during their care journey
In summary: an innovative initiative in more ways than one
Humanism is a core value of the Faculty. It is an integral part of its history, but it also serves as a guiding principle for its future, as evidenced by this program, which is innovative in more ways than one. Indeed, this is an ethical and pedagogical innovation :
- co-created with students, faculty, users, and administrative staff: a true example of cross-functional collaboration among the women and men of our community
- that focuses on a genuine social for health science students and that is introduced early enough in their academic program to address it in advance and long enough to address it in depth
- which includes theoretical modules but also, and above all, highly practical modules, centered on a human-centered approach to the patient-caregiver relationship, particularly through simulation workshops
- Skills Developer key skills centered on empathy and interpersonal skills: essential tools for a more humane approach to medicine
- carrying a message for both students and their future patients
Opportunities for other degree programs
The introduction of this course unit into the medical curriculum inevitably raises questions about the other programs offered by the school (midwifery, paramedical studies). “Medicine is relatively behind compared to other programs,” admits Dr. Luquiens. “In fact, there are already course units in the other programs, but not in such a structured, phased manner. The idea, therefore, is that once this course unit has been refined, it will be ‘expanded’ to the other programs, with the goal of fostering a transdisciplinary approach to these skills.”
Every year, the Faculty organizes "Printemps de la Médecine," an event for general practitioners. Find all the details in this article!
An event for general practitioners
These events provide an opportunity to review all the year’s major medical developments in the morning and, in the afternoon, to explore best practices in areas of routine medical practice through workshops. This event, like previous ones, will be submitted to the ANDPC website for accreditation, and the Faculty will handle registrations for physicians wishing to participate. In the meantime, mark this date on your calendar!
For any additional information, particularly regarding the program and registration procedures, please feel free to contact the office in charge of continuing professional development (CPD) at the Faculty at the following address: med-fmc-dpc@umontpellier.fr.
To register, click the link below! The Office of Continuing Medical Education and CPD looks forward to seeing many of you there!
The SPES (Primary Care, Environment, and Health) program is a training initiative organized by the University Department of General Medicine at the Montpellier-Nîmes School of Medicine and the Avicenne Multidisciplinary University Health Center in Cabestany. A one-day training session for general medicine residents, as well as a public lecture, will take place on September 9, 2021.
The Project's Origins
It is part of the call for proposals launched by the Occitanie Regional Health Agency (ARS) as part of the 3rd Regional Health and Environment Plan, of which it is one of the winning projects. In particular, it aims to increase awareness of environmental health among citizens and healthcare professionals.
Project Organization
To that end, it is organized in three stages:
Learn more about the SPES program
Meeting with the Academic Advisor
Dr. François Carbonnel, an associate professor in the Department of General Medicine at the Montpellier-Nîmes School of Medicine and a general practitioner at the Avicenne Primary Care Center, has been selected as the winner of the call for proposals organized by the Occitanie Regional Health Agency (ARS).
Why did you decide to launch this Primary Care, Environment, and Health training program?
The environment can pose risks to our societies and to our health. This training program helps raise awareness among our colleagues about what environmental health is. We want to educate them about this field, which is still relatively unknown.
What is the purpose of this new training program?
Through this training, future general practitioners will first be able to identify environmental health risks so that they can treat them. Second, they will be able to predict and prevent them.
Who is this training course intended for?
This training program is primarily intended for residents and faculty in general practice. The goal is for this program to become a sustainable and useful resource so that we can offer it on a broader scale and ensure that environmental health issues are addressed across all regions.
September 9
The event will consist of two parts: the first part will be dedicated to training residents and faculty in general practice. The second part, open to the general public, will feature a lecture.
Here is the schedule for these two games:
Schedule for the day for interns
Conference Program for the General Public
Please note that this program is subject to change depending on the public health situation.
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