La formación de los profesionales de la salud

In a future that is almost upon us, the evolution of medicine must take account of demographic and social changes, and the continuous march of technological progress. The difficulties faced by the health system, whose sources of finance are scarcely able to deal with the significant growth of demand, also condition the availability of healthcare for society. Moreover, the immense impact of preventive medicine over the last century gives grounds for incorporating it into the practice of primary healthcare. These are some of the factors that make it necessary to supersede certain of today’s teaching concepts and methods. In Spain, the future needs of the labor market also have to be planned for, by calibrating the future importance of each medical specialty. These are some of the questions debated in the first conference organized by the BBV Foundation on the Training of Healthcare Professionals, which took place in 1996.