Image by Kevin MacKenzie
The International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) has announced its new international clinical core curriculum on thrombosis and hemostasis.
It is the first framework of its kind to define the minimum standards for a medical doctor to attain a level of proficiency to practice independently as a specialist in the field.
The core curriculum appears in the January 2016 issue of the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis.
“Internationally, there is wide variation in how clinicians who work in thrombosis and hemostasis reach their final destination as recognized specialists,” said Claire McLintock, MD, of Auckland City Hospital in New Zealand.
“The ISTH clinical core curriculum serves to provide a framework for training of specialists in this field and to promote harmonization of training internationally.”
Dr McLintock noted that, prior to the development of the ISTH core curriculum, there was no international consensus on what constituted the requirements for a specialist in thrombosis and hemostasis in terms of clinical competencies.
In 2013, ISTH identified the need for an international clinical core curriculum and developed a working group consisting of specialists from around the world to address and draft a list of competencies.
ISTH members and the global thrombosis and hemostasis community were surveyed to rate the importance of the proposed competencies. The survey garnered more than 640 responses with broad geographical representation, which determined the ultimate framework for the new curriculum.
“We are pleased to release this exciting new resource for the global thrombosis and hemostasis community,” said Nigel Key, MD, of the UNC Hemophilia and Thrombosis Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
“Our intent is for the core curriculum to serve as a common reference point for national and regional thrombosis and hemostasis societies to create or revise their own clinical training programs. Additionally, it can potentially be used as a framework for continuous professional development, maintenance of competence, and to inform future ISTH educational offerings.”
