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Remarks from the Chairman of the CIRSE Foundation Advisory Council
Dear Colleagues,
As the new CIRSE Foundation Advisory Council Chairman I am happy to introduce you to the new format of European School of Interventional Radiology, the world’s most comprehensive non-commercial training programme in Interventional Radiology. As you will see in this brochure, the ESIR will continue its popular two-day courses on specific procedures. The Foundation has, however, taken IR education one step further, embedding the courses in a comprehensive programme covering all aspects of learning from congresses and meetings to courses, hands-on experience gained through educational stays in other hospitals and online education.
I have always been a strong believer in a comprehensive educational programme as the most important tool for shaping the future, as nothing will ensure the best possible patient care and the future of our specialty like solid training and further education for our young colleagues. It was with this vision that in 2006 the CIRSE Foundation initiated the European School of Interventional Radiology. Five years later ESIR has grown from a series of five courses to a comprehensive, year-round programme including congresses, courses, grants and an online learning tool.
This year’s programme will include another edition of the European Congress of Interventional Oncology (ECIO) in Florence, Italy (April 21-24). Offering more than 33 hours of technical and clinical focus sessions as well as workshops, this important event will accommodate the needs of a field that has grown substantially over recent years. In addition ESIR is looking forward to hosting its first International Conference on Complications in Interventional Radiology (ICCIR) which will take place in Pörtschach, Austria from June 10-12.
Due to its great success, the ESIR courses will continue in their usual two-day format combining theoretical lectures with interactive sessions in small groups. Once again the programme will span all of Europe with courses from Georgia all the way to London. With the kind support of our industry partners we will also be able to offer further hands-on courses in Hamburg and Brussels. This year’s course in local language will be given on stenting in Zaragoza, Spain.
For those physicians who would like to train in a procedure that is not performed in their hospital, the CIRSE Foundation continues to offer visiting scholarship grants as well as fellowship grants. In addition www.esir.org offers valuable and comprehensive online education. All CIRSE members are free to browse its more than 3,300 presentations, videos and posters stemming from past CIRSE congresses.
With the above mentioned pillars the CIRSE Foundation is working towards creating a comprehensive educational system that will culminate in the European Board of Interventional Radiology (EBIR). The first exam for this skill certificate will be carried out at CIRSE 2010 in Valencia. We hope that European recognition will be achieved for this certificate as well as our other educational activities, therefore contributing to the homogenization of the European IR training curriculum.
Jim A. Reekers
Chairman of the CIRSE Foundation Advisory Council
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