EDPM - ESRA

EDPM

The purpose of the European Diploma of Pain Medicine (EDPM) is to harmonize and improve quality standards for safe, independent practice of pain medicine in Europe and elsewhere.

The Diploma Program assesses the competencies of anaesthesiologist, acting within  a multidisciplinary team, and practicing as a pain medicine specialist.

The Diploma Program is intended to be complementary to national standards and enhance the competent, ethical, and professional care of pain medicine.

The first EDPM examination was organised in September 2017 during the 36th Annual ESRA Congress, in Lugano, Switzerland.


EDPM 2024:

EDPM Part I MCQ exam:

60 MCQ questions

  • When? Friday, 16 February 2024
  • Where?
  • Remote exam, the candidate will be expected to take the exam from home/office
  • Dhaka, Bangladesh – onsite online exam

***

EDPM Part II viva exam:

  • When? Postponed due to national elections
  • Where? Dhaka, Bangladesh

 

  • When? Friday, 6 September 2024
  • Where? Prague, Czech Republic, during the ESRA annual congress 2024

* The EDPM Board reserves the right to close the applications if the maximum capacity is reached before the closing date.


The EDPM  Part 1 Examination:

Pre-requisites:

The EDPM  applicants must fulfil the following requirements:

1      The applicant has been in an official anaesthesiology training program before applying for the examination

2      The applicant must provide evidence of training in pain medicine for at least 6 months

3      The applicant is an ESRA member, with valid membership

4      The applicant must have good command of English (as demonstrated at the examination)

Once accepted, the applicant will have to purchase a registration to the ESRA annual congress in order to finalize his/her application and pay for the examination (congress registration is not mandatory for re-takers). In case a candidate is unable to attend the congress when taking the Part I, he can also attend it the same year as he will take the Part II. It is however highly recommended to attend the congress when writing the first part of the examination. One ESRA annual congress registration is mandatory to be eligible for the part 2 examination.

Applicants who are already practicing as specialists or consultants at their institution need to produce a letter from the chair of the department or employer specifying that they are engaged in sessions of chronic pain management.

EDPM Part I:

  • Will be a 60 MCQ paper with a stem and 5 possible answers. Candidates will be asked to distinguish  True and False statements.
  • There will be no negative marking for candidates who choose the wrong answer.
  • The questions will be set to reflect a broad pain curriculum and will be weighted to represent the importance of an area of the curriculum as viewed by the examination faculty.
  • The examination faculty will be responsible for setting agreeing and refreshing a bank of MCQ pain questions to serve as the basis for the Part 1.

Part 1 Examination will be compulsory for all candidates.

The EDPM  Part 2 Examination:

  • Part 2 of the examination shall consist of a series of viva questions centred on 2 clinical scenarios that will be predetermined for the examiners by the faculty.
  • The examiners will be allowed a number of open guiding questions to guide the candidate through a scenario.
  • The scenario will not be set rigidly neither will the examiners be given marking scenarios.
  • 2 viva examiners will conduct the examination of each candidate. There might be an observer as well.

 

EDPM part I must be taken before EDPM part II. The number of attempts by candidate will be limited to three times (which is also considered the maximum).

 


Examination fees:

The examination fee for part I is €300 (€300/sitting) and part II is €700 (€700/sitting) and must be paid in advance upon confirmation of application. Please note that cheques are not accepted.

Cancellation policy

  • A withdrawal request submitted to the Examination Office before the closing date of applications is entitled to a refund of the exam fee, minus the administration fee of €150, which is automatically deducted from the refund.
  • A withdrawal request submitted after the closing date of applications is not entitled to any refund.
  • In exceptional circumstances a transfer request may be granted, if there is a serious medical condition that prevents the candidate sitting the examination and the request reaches the Exams Office no later than 2 weeks prior to the first date of the exam.
  • Transfer requests received after that date will not be entertained.
  • Transfer requests due to visa difficulties and/or postal delays will not be entertained.
  • Refunds will only be processed after the examination.
  • The administration fee is non-refundable.

Curriculum:

Click here to access the full syllabus with the list of topics for candidates to prepare for the examination. This document is the summary of clinical conditions that the candidate should have, the knowledge and skills to diagnose and manage chronic pain patient in pain medicine practice.

EDPM Regulations:

Click here to access the regulations. This document provides information regarding training, curricula and exam regulations for the European Diploma in Pain Medicine Management (EDPM) of the European Society of Regional Anesthesia & Pain Therapy.

EDPM Preparation Sessions:

Click here to access the ESRA Academy with your ESRA membership credentials and find webcasted presentations from our experts to help you be ready for your exam.

EDPM Committee members:

Chair:

Sam Eldabe, UK

Vice-Chairs:

  • Eric Buchser, Switzerland
  • José De Andrés, Spain

Members:

  • Duarte Correia, Portugal
  • Pasquale De Negri, Italy
  • Andrzej Krol, UK
  • Sarah Love-Jones, UK
  • Christophe Perruchoud, Switzerland
  • Gina Votta-Velis, USA

Ex-Officio Board Member:

  • Eleni Moka, Greece

Associate Faculty Members:

  • Vaishali Wankhede, Switzerland
  • Gaurav Chabra, UK
  • Anu Kansal, UK
  • Maurizio Marchesini, Italy
  • Senthil Jayaseelan, UK
  • Athmaja Thottungal, UK

Click here to access the terms of reference.

 

EDPM Diplomates:

The list of ESRA-EDPM diplomates is available here.