ADAPTING LRU CREDITS TO ECTS CREDITS IN MEDICAL BIOCHEMISTRY FOR THE DEGREE IN MEDICINE WITHIN THE EUROPEAN HIGHER EDUCATION AREA: A NEW APPROACH TO TEACHING/LEARNING

At the start of the academic year 2003/04, the Faculty of Medicine implemented a Pilot Plan aimed at training and preparing staff and students for the definitive plan, to be introduced in 2010/11. The Pilot Plan was launched from the outset, since Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology are taught in the first year of the degree course. The new Pilot Plan entailed a change to the tuition system hitherto in use in the Medicine degree course; teacher-centred tuition was gradually replaced by the joint involvement of teachers and students in the learning process, and by personalised monitoring of each student. At the same time, this change challenged our ability to adapt and innovate, with a view to overcoming undeniable major failings. The initial approach, the fruit of careful, thorough analysis, had to be modified to adapt to the real situation. As a result, the new plans have prompted a variety of often-conflicting sensations in teaching staff: apprehension, confusion, enthusiasm and hope; at every stage, however, it has been clear that this represents an opportunity to do a good job.