ESSM Newsletter # 37

6 ESSM Today ESSM and MJCSM education & certification: Where we are now and where we want to be by Yacov Reisman Sexual problems are associated with various medical conditions and psychological causes. The healthcare providers who are dealing with these problems may be from diverse specialties. Furthermore, sexual dysfunctions involve the interaction of biological, psychological and social factors, which necessitate a multidisciplinary medical approach. However, Sexual Medicine has recently been rec- ognized as a medical discipline due to the revolu- tionary scientific researches which elucidated the causes and treatment options of various sexual problems. Despite the growth in this field, Sexual Medicine is still not recognized in all parts of the world as specialty or even subspecialty, resulting differences in quality of sexual medicine services between countries all over the world. Therefore, the quality and the content of the healthcare provided by the sexual medicine experts should be closely monitored and regulated according to their medical knowledge, skills and attitudes, after providing the educational possibilities. European qualification for sexual med- icine physicians and for sexologists The ESSM is the first and the only Sexual Medi- cine society, which decided and devoted efforts for establishing standards for practicing this medical discipline. In 2003, the executive committee of the ESSM started to seek for the development of regulatory framework under the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS) (1). After a long negotiation process, the UEMS approved the foundation of a Multidisciplinary Joint Com- mittee for Sexual Medicine (MJCSM) in 2011. In the beginning, the MJCSM consisted of repre- sentatives from the European Boards of Urology, Obstertics-Gynacology and Psychiatry; however representatives from Endocrinology and Derma- tology boards recently joined to the committee. The MJCSM aimed to develop a curriculum for Sexual Medicine, to set educational standards, and to create a framework of assessment. The first assessment for sexual medicine physicians took place in 2012 and it has been repeated biannually for qualifications of fellows of the MJCSM. The assessment has been performed with a MCQ examination conducted by the MJCSM Exam Committee and included ques- tions about all the domains of sexual medicine. In order to monitor the practical abilities of the healthcare providers, an online logbook has been designed which allows supervision of a senior Sexual Medicine expert. The next MJCSM exam will take place just before the next ISSM- ESSM meeting in Lisbon on 28 February 2018 . Information and application will be soon available on the ESSM and MJCSM websites. To be eligible to take the examination, the candi- date needs to be a registered medical specialist or family physician with at least 5 years of experi- ence in his/her country of practice. The candidate is expected to demonstrate documents proving his/her educational background, clinical experi- ence in Sexual Medicine and active participation in Sexual Medicine congresses, symposia and seminars. The exam committee evaluates all ap- plications and confirms the candidates who are able to take the exam. Candidates who took and pass the exam are able to use the title “Fellow of the European Committee in Sexual Medicine” (FECSM), which is a “mark of excellence”. Currently, the ESSM is also attempting to improve the quality of Sexual Medicine by establishing standards for psychologists who are dealing with sexual problems. The ESSM, together with the European Federation of Sexology (EFS), con- structed a syllabus on clinical sexology in 2013 and established a “Mark of Excellence” qualifica- tion for psychologists through an examination process similar to the MJCSM examination. The first EFS/ESSM examination for psychosexolo- gists was held in 2014. Candidates of this exam had to possess qualification as psychologist (or psychiatrists) with psychotherapy degree and postgraduate training in sexology includ- ing supervised experience. Those who passed the exam were able to use the title “EFS/ESSM Certified Psychosexologist” (ECPS). We believe that these activities will not only improve the standards of care in sexology but also will lead to the recognition and protection of sexologists by the European authorities (2). Although both qualification processes for FECSM and ECPS are developed by European organiza- tions, they are available for eligible health care providers from all over the world. Up to date more than 500 physicians and 80 psychosexologists from 5 continents were eligible for the examina- tion and majority of them received the FECSM and ECPS title. Main educational activities of the ESSM With the aim to support the training of Sexual Medicine physicians and to provide standardized educational opportunities in accordance with MJCSM curriculum, the Executive Committee of the ESSM founded an Educational Committee. This committee initiated several multidisciplinary educational activities: 1. ABC master courses: These courses took place during the annual ESSM meetings aiming to provide educational opportunities for residents and specialists in the field of Sexual Medicine. These courses incorporated endocrinological, urological, gynecological and psychological components. 2. ESSM Syllabus of Sexual Medicine: Right before the first MJCSM exam in 2012, the first and the only textbook in Sexual Medicine has been published. This book covered all the different aspects of Sexual Medicine for both genders and served as a learning source for the future FECSM candidates. In 2015, the Syllabus has been updated according to the recent literature and renamed as the ESSM Manual of Sexual Medicine. This book is avail- Yacov reisman Urologist, Sexologist Chair Men’s Health Clinic Amstelland Hospital Amstelveen, The Netherlands uro.amsterdam@gmail.com