THE EUROPEAN SCHOOL FOR CARDIO-THORACIC SURGERY, BERGAMO, ITALY
Inauguration speech by Walter Klepetko, President of EACTS, 1 March 2003
Dr. Venier, Prof. Parenzan,
Ladies and gentleman.
It is a special pleasure for me to talk here on the occasion of this historical moment. We are facing another important step in the history of Bergamo, which is already highly recognized for its unique activities in medical education and training. And we are at the start of another achievement of EACTS in its endeavour to construct the structural requirements for performance of cardio-thoracic surgery within Europe according to quality criteria.
The inauguration of this European school for Cardio-Thoracic surgery is supposed to open a new area of education within cardio-thoracic surgery. This became possible only due to the initiative of a number of people and institutions whom I would like to thank on this occasion on behalf of the EACTS and the ESTS but also on behalf of all future scholars who will have the opportunity to take advantage from these courses. First of all I want to thank Prof. Lucio Parenzan. When he approached our association almost 4 years ago with the idea and offer to erect an international school here in Bergamo, he already had gained an outstanding and long experience in teaching, by running the International Heart School in Bergamo for many years together with Prof. Ottavio Alfieri, whom I would like to thank as well. Together they have given Bergamo the reputation of a centre for teaching and education and together they have been the local driving forces to make this new school become a reality. There is no high level activity like that, without substantial financial funding, and I would like to thank all who have contributed with their donations and who have given generous support.
This fantastic venue was made available to our project by the Clinico Humanita, who is represented here by its President Dr. Gianfelice ROCCA, and by the Reale Mutua Insurance, represented by its President Dr. Castelbarlo-Albani. The Cariplo Foundation, represented today by Dr. Renato Ravasio has given the necessary financial background. The International Academy for Advanced Medical Sciences and its President Dr. Marco Venier are our host, and finally, Council of EACTS has allocated another significant amount of money to guarantee for proper running of the School. I also want to extend my thanks to the Italian government and Prof. Girolamo Sirchia, Minister of Health. I myself, who has the reputation as a transplant surgeon, feel particularly pleased that Prof Sirchia, who has been doing so much for transplantation in northern Italy, is giving us the honour of his presence.
I also want to extend my thanks to all people from the Gavazzeni Clinic who have given support in various other forms and to all colleagues in both the EACTS and ESTS, who have dedicated already so much time in the preparation of the courses and who are willing to run the School through their voluntary engagement in the future.
Finally I want to mention Prof. Hans Borst who unfortunately cannot be with us today. I believe that I can speak in the name of all of us, when I send him our best wishes for his recovery.
At the end I am convinced that all people and organisations involved can be satisfied by giving the starting initiative to such a interesting and ambitious project.
Cardio-thoracic surgery, although being one of the younger specialities within medicine, has nevertheless undergone a rapid process of growing within the last 30 years. It has accumulated an enormous richness in new knowledge, skills and techniques, that has hardly been seen in any other medical speciality. Deriving from surgery for infectious diseases of the lung, it developed towards surgery of congenital and acquired cardiac diseases, to coronary artery surgery, oncological surgery of the chest, and more recently to treatment of end stage cardiac and pulmonary diseases, including advanced forms of organ assist as well as replacement therapies. Encompassing such a large variety of different contents it becomes more and more important to transfer this knowledge in a comprehensive form to the younger surgeons, who are in their training, in order to offer them a consistent basis before they will undergo further specialisation. It will be obligatory, so as to allow and facilitate free movement and change of working place within Europe, to define a generally accepted knowledge basis, which becomes mandatory for everyone intending to practice as a European cardio-thoracic surgeon. The creation of the ESCTS in Bergamo provides the ideal tool for that and the ESCTS should become the standard for postgraduate education in cardio-thoracic surgery in Europe within short time. Although certainly not being mandatory to undergo European Board examinations, the ESCTS in Bergamo is nevertheless foreseen to provide the optimal preparation for it.
In order to work as a cardio-thoracic surgeon within Europe in the future, it will be necessary to come up to a number of requirements. Evidence of proper training is one of it. Structured postgraduate education will be another one. And certainly proof of continuous further learning activities, as provided by the annual meetings of the EACTS and ESTS will be the third one. The ESCTS intends to fill this gap between basic education at a local level and the advanced science presented at annual meetings.
Cardio-thoracic surgery within Europe exists in a variety of forms. There are colleagues exclusively performing cardiac or general thoracic surgical activities, whereas others are involved in both. General thoracic surgery can as well be found in combination with vascular surgery or even as a part of abdominal surgery. This heterogeneity implies that any postgraduate school programme has to be structured in a way, that makes it attractive to the different requirements of the particular scholars. During the planning of the courses it became therefore obvious that a need for two separate courses, a cardiac and a general thoracic surgical one exists. This is in parallel to other realities at a European level, for example representation within UEMS and the ECTSIA. By offering the two separate courses it is not intended to diversify cardiac and thoracic surgery, but rather to create circumstances that allow us to hold both specialities together.
The programme offered at the ESCTS is foreseen as a sequence of three weeks, built one upon each other. To pass a whole course will therefore take three years, which is in parallel to the required training times in most countries. A large number of highly reputated teachers will guarantee for quality of the courses. Teaching is foreseen to be performed in a lively and interactive way, using all kinds of modern information technologies and it will comprise the whole field of knowledge in both specialities. Besides, the purely medical contents however, a number of other topics will be taught as well. This should confront the scholars with the basics and principles of such issues as quality management, statistics, scientific writing and many others.
Interactivity is one of the foreseen objectives of the school. By offering the scholars the opportunity to actively participate and contribute to the teaching process, for example by preparing special topics by themselves, by using the internet in its various forms, and by discussing specific literature, a simulation and preparation for their future professional life will be given.
Week coordinators will look for consistency throughout a course, will act as the central communication person, and will take care of a final multiple-choice test, so as to give adequate feedback to the scholars about the level of knowledge that they have achieved.
The School however, will not only provide education at a high level, but intends to play an important role in the European process of integration as well. By bringing together tutors and scholars from various countries, all spending time together not only during the hours of lecturing, a unique opportunity for multinational exchange of opinions and views will be given. Out of that, long-lasting contacts and even friendships will be created. Especially for colleagues from the East, this should become an important opportunity to overcome economical limitations and help them to intensify their contacts to the west.
Bergamo, located in this charming area in the middle of Europe, certainly is an ideal location for that. The local expertise in teaching, in combination with the international tutorship guarantees for a high quality.
Ladies and gentleman, this new ESCTS has the ambitious objective to provide postgraduate education in the field of cardiac and thoracic surgery at the highest possible level. It will be the ideal preparation for the examinations of the European Board examinations. By bringing together scholars and tutors from various countries it will stimulate international contacts and exchange of ideas. In this way it ultimately should set standards for European cardiac and thoracic specialist knowledge.
We have met the requirements for the start of this exciting endeavour and it is now up to us to continue with our efforts to make this project a success throughout the following years.
Let me finish my talk once more with expressing my gratitude and thanks to all that have contributed.
Walter Klepetko, MD
President of EACTS
