All Members Meeting May 2023: Embracing Unity and Excellence in Saronno, Italy

OsEAN All Members LIVE Meeting Saronno 2023

This May, the Bi-Annual All Members Meeting took place in the picturesque town of Saronno, Italy. This gathering served as a nexus for collaboration, and networking, as attendees from various member schools came together to share knowledge, foster connections, and drive excellence in the field of osteopathy.

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The first day started with the president sharing news about OsEAN which included the topic "Osteopathic Models: between tradition and evidence-based practice" and dates: 24th & 25th October 2024 of the 9th Open Forum for Osteopathic Education which will take place in Saronno, Italy. The day continued with the news from the members followed by the main topic of the meeting which was learning outcomes. While some of the 27 attendees participated in a workshop “Competence based Medical Education” lead by Giacomo Consorti which had the aim to present “An outcome-based approach to the design, implementation, assessment, and evaluation of a medical education program using competencies as the organizing framework”, the others discussed existing documents on learning outcomes within osteopathy.

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The first day finished with a guided visit and a delicious Italian dinner in the wonderful small-town Como. The second day continued with the topic of the first one.

We want to say thank you to our great host Accademia Italiana di Medicina Osteopatica – AIMO and its staff who did everything possible for us to feel welcome.

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The Virtual International Student Day Brings Together Osteopathic Students from Around the World

On February 17th, 2023, osteopathic students from all over the world gathered for the Virtual International Student Day (VISD) 2023, an event that aimed to connect students and provide them with valuable insights into the field of osteopathy. OsEAN organises the event once a year and this was the 3rd VISD organised so far, the first one was in 2021.  The Virtual International Student Day gives a platform for students to network with each other and learn from international teachers.

This year’s VISD was the first in a series of three which focus on the philosophy and identity of the osteopath, and how these have evolved over time. The topic was concentrating on the history - “Osteopathic Identities in a Changing World: History”. The following two events will concentrate on philosophy and principles in 2024 and on Identity in 2025.
The Virtual International Student Day 2023 was a resounding success, with 350 participants from various countries, in Europe including Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the rest of the world: Argentina, Guatemala, Kazakhstan, United Arab Emirates, United States. Some participants marked the cities there were in at that moment and this is how the map below was created.
Map participants VISD 2023

Research Teachers Working Group

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OsEAN just longed its fifth Working Group - the one for Research Teachers. The first meeting was on 21st November 2022 at 19:00 CET. The Group has decided to meet every last Monday of an odd month. If you are a teacher at an OsEAN Member school and want to participate in this or any other of the Working Groups, send as an e-mail to let us know.

The working groups are a networking project having as aim to connect teachers of member schools with each other and give them the opportunity to exchange their experience, share thoughts and fears, hear how colleagues in the same field work in their schools in other countries and search for solutions of common challenges they face while teaching.

Annual All Members Meeting, September 2022

OsEAN All Members meeting - Sept 2022

The second annual All Members Meeting as well as the General Meeting took place in Antwerp on 28th September 2022. The meeting was only one day long because it was on the day before OsEAN's 8th Open Forum Conference dedicated to the topic of Clinical Competencies. The meetings topics were different. then last time. The members talked about the news from their schools and countries, about the upcoming Open Forum and decided on the topic of the Open Forum Conference in 2024. The exact title needs to be formulated but we can tell you already now that it would be on research and its implementation in the classroom. Further Marco Giardino from AIMO and Marco Sbarbaro from SSOI presented Fondazione PSP - Promozione della Salute e della Prevenzione (promotion of Health and prevention) how it works and what its goals are.

8th Open Forum Conference - “Teaching Clinical Competencies”

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The topic of OsEAN’s eight “Open Forum for Osteopathic Education” conference which was held on 29th & 30th September 2022 in Antwerp, Belgium was “Teaching Clinical Competencies”.
The clinic is an important part in osteopathic education and clinical competencies are a core part of osteopathic training, according to the CEN-Standard for Osteopathy (CENTC414-N0086). Teaching clinical competencies includes the application of all osteopathic skills to real patients.

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The lectures, workshops and poster presentations were very well received by the seventy present participants from Europe. The conference continued one and a half days offering keynote speeches from Prof. Eyal Lederman on “Process Approach in Osteopathy.” (read abstract / view presentation) and Stephen Vogel on „Conceptualising and teaching the risk of serious vascular adverse events associated with manual therapy when treating the neck: An overview of a recent International Framework.” (read abstract / view presentation)

Welcome on Board

During OsEAN's annual General Meeting Catherine Clair from ESO (UK) was elected as a board member. We are very happy to welcome her on board.

Catherine Clair - OsEAN Board MemberCatherine graduated from the European School of Osteopathy (ESO) in 2005 from the CIDO - ESO pathway and has since been actively involved in various roles at the ESO for both undergraduate and international departments as well as practicing in two clinics in Kent.
Following her diploma in Osteopathy, Catherine has obtained a Masters degree in Osteopathy from the ESO as well as a Postgraduate certificate in Higher Education from the University of Greenwich and is currently undertaking a Doctorate in Education.

Annual All Members Meeting, May 2022

OsEAN All Members Live Meeting - Vienna, May 2022

This was OsEAN’s first in person meeting after the pandemic. The meeting took place in Vienna, Austria on the 23rd & 24th May 2022. Host was the WSO (Vienna School of Osteopathy). Main topics of this meeting were succession and leadership, two topics our members were highly interested in. Often osteopathic schools are reigned by one person alone which wears many heads in the structure of the school and in these cases, it is important to realise that the time will come for the principal to retire and there needs to be a plan of action in place on how to do the change smoothly. It is important to realise that when a school is led by one person only if anything happens to the principal, the school needs to continue working without major problems. Here is also important to acknowledge the role a good leader plays in the organisation of an educational institution. This led to the decision that workshops on these topics are needed. The workshop “Succession in osteopathic schools” a workshop led by Raimund Engel (WSO, Austria) and the workshop “Perspectives on leadership as principal for an osteopathy school” was led by Daniel Heed (SKOHS, Sweden).

OsEAN All Members Live Meeting Vienna, May 2022