The MME Course will be held as an online course in 2020 as travel restrictions due to COVID-19 do not allow to host the course in Spiez (CH) as planned.
The International Committee of Military Medicine, the ICMM Reference Centre for Education of International Humanitarian Law and Ethics, and the Swiss Armed Forces Medical Services Directorate wish to offer to young Military Medical Personnel, Military Medico-Legal Officers, and Chaplains as well as other interested members of the armed forces a course on Military Medical Ethics (MME).
General Information on the Ethics Course
This advanced course aims at qualifying the participants to make correct decisions in situations where competences in international law and ethics are similarly relevant. The capacity is built and trained by means of case studies which are drawn on situations and reports from recent deployment.
The concrete cases and topics can vary from year to year and will reflect current needs. Cases from the experience of course participants are welcome but should be made in advance to allow for a sound preparation of the analysis.
The course aims at…
- … enabling participants to recognize and analyze situations that present ethical and legal dilemmas from contemporary military deployments;
- … qualifying the participants to make legally and ethically sound decisions in situations where competences in international law and ethics are similarly relevant.
Virtual Classroom Course 2020
The 8th ICMM Course on Military Medical Ethics in Times of Armed Conflict (Military Medical Ethics/ MME) will take place from 31 August – 04 September 2020. Due to the travel restrictions imposed by the response to COVID-19 by many countries, we unfortunately cannot organize the 2020 course in Spiez/ Switzerland as we usually do. We decided to see the current situation as an opportunity to explore a new format of the course and to hold the course as a “virtual classroom course”.
In preparation for the course, participants will get access to an e-learning tool and will have to follow some exercises online. Participants are free to schedule when they do these tasks (which amount to about 5h in total) within three weeks before the course.
The main course will be held via videoconferencing and the participants and teachers will meet during fixed times in the virtual environment. Hence, the usual format of the course that includes some lectures and much groupwork and discussions will be transferred into a virtual classroom. In addition, external experts may join the course for lectures. Thus, the virtual course shall be as close to the in situ course format as possible and shall offer as much direct exchange between the participants and the teaching team as possible.
In order to allow participants from different global time zones to join the course, the daily virtual classroom hours will only cover half a day (morning in Europe, afternoon in Asia). On some days, participants will receive follow-up tasks which they can schedule themselves in between the sessions. Details can be found in the program.
- Download the Provisional Program of the MME Course 2020 (PDF)
Minor changes may still occur.
Conditions to participate
The following conditions must be met by everybody who wishes to participate in the 2020 MME virtual classroom course. Even though the course is held as a virtual classroom course, it is not a passive e-learning course, but all participants and teachers will meet online during fixed times in a closed videoconference room.
Course Schedule – mandatory sessions
- Access to a mandatory e-learning module will be given to all participants before the course. All participants must follow the e-learning individually and complete some tasks online in weeks 33-35. A total of 5h is needed to complete the e-learning.
- The main course will be run from Monday, August 31 to Friday, September 04, 2020. Daily fixed hours are from 0830 to 1400 CEST (Zurich time), including breaks. In addition, participants should be able to spend 1h00 during the rest of their working day for individual follow-up of the course.
The course program with the schedule can be downloaded here. - Participants are expected to be
(1) available during the virtual classroom hours during the whole week (in week 36) and
(2) in an environment that allows them to follow the course and to participate in discussions. Usually, this means they should have a separate room in order not to be disturbed by other or disturb them when talking. - In sum, the course will consist of 29 hours. An individual preparation time of 5h before the main course week, 20h virtual classroom sessions, and 4h individual follow-up during the course week.
Technical requirements
- A computer or tablet with a webcam and microphone. A mobile phone is not sufficient.
- The software “zoom conferences” will be used for videoconferencing and must be installed by all participants. A paid subscription to zoom is not needed by participants.
- Internet access with sufficient bandwidth for videoconferences.
- Unrestricted access to “zoom conferences” and the websites https://e-courses.melac.ch/ and https://scenarios.militarymedicalethics.ch must be guaranteed during the whole course. Potential restrictions by security settings or military firewalls must be checked beforehand by the participants.
- The use of a headset is strongly recommended.
Language
- The course is held in English language. Participants must have sufficient knowledge in English to read texts, understand presentations, and to participate in discussions.
Course Fee
- A course fee of 50 CHF is charged to participants. This includes access to the online material, the preparatory e-learning session, and the virtual classroom sessions of the main course. If you are unable to pay the fee, please indicate on the registration form and we will evaluate a waiver of the course fee.
Application for the course
- Invitation Letter MME Course 2020 (PDF)
- Announcement and general Information MME Course 2020 (PDF)
- Deadline for applications: 20 July 2020 – Registration is closed
- For questions regarding the course or the registration, please contact
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Certificate & Accreditation
Successful participants will receive a certificate issued by the Swiss Armed Forces Medical Services Directorate and the ICMM Center of Reference for Education on IHL and Ethics.
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The Course on Military Medical Ethics (MME) in times of armed conflict, Spiez, Switzerland, 30/08/2020-03/09/2020 has been accredited by the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME®) with 25 European CME credits (ECMEC®s). Each medical specialist should claim only those hours of credit that he/she actually spent in the educational activity. |
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The MME course has been accredited by the Swiss Institute for Postgraduate and Further Education in Medicine (SIWF / ISFM) with 25 Credit Points. Participants will receive a certificate and can check with their national institutions if the credit points are accepted by them. |
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Teachers of the 2020 course
Ethics teacher
IHL/ LOAC teacher
- COL Cord von Einem