Dear Colleagues, Friends, Members of the Association,
The year 2009 has started with a very encouraging number of applications for ordinary and junior membership. All members of council are very pleased with this development, and are looking forward to meeting these new members during the various activities of the Association. The field of congenital cardiology, and its related sub-specialties, should be considered as a big, friendly and open-minded family caring for those with congenitally malformed hearts from fetal to adult life. To achieve this goal, the Association needs constant activity of all its members in order to renew the spirits, develop and realize new ideas, to thrive, and to aim further for the harmonization of training, in this way guaranteeing the excellence of professional quality, and further developing the specialty through its different Working Groups. More than ever there is a need to work together, to learn from each other, and to understand each other.
The New Year brings several challenges. Our major task will be to harmonize the training and education in Paediatric Cardiology within Europe. The Association is also in the process of selecting new members and officers for Council. The web page of the Association needs renewal and constant updating. For these various activities, the Council welcomes your ideas, criticism and activity. It is the activity of the members and working groups that keeps the Association rolling.
News from the Council:
Educational Committee
During meeting of Council held in September, an Educational Committee was established, on the basis of the plans discussed during the Business Meeting held in Venice last May. The proposed by-laws for the committee have been written by Luc Mertens and Bohdan Maruszewski. Council thanks them for their efforts. The suggested by-laws were discussed, and slightly amended, during the meeting of Council. The situation agreed is that Council will appoint 5 members to the committee, with each member serving a period of 3 years, with the potential to prolong the appointment for a further period of 3 years. Of the members, one will be chosen from the Council, and another will represent the Junior Members.
The by-laws of the Educational Committee are as follows:
Education and training of paediatric cardiologists is one of the main objectives of the Association as a professional organisation. The Council is the body within the organisation responsible for co-ordinating and developing educational activities. To assist the Council in realizing its educational goals, the Council of the Association for European Paediatric Cardiology has created an educational committee. This committee will work under the guidance of the Council on educational projects defined and approved by the Council.
• Aims of the Educational Committee:
– Defining the recommendations for training has become a major task for the Association. The educational committee will assist the council in developing the general requirements for accreditation by the Association as a European Paediatric Cardiologist. This involves revising the current recommendations, and updating them according to changes in the profession. These proposals are submitted to the Association Council for approval. The agreed recommendations will be used as the basis for the European examination in Paediatric Cardiology.
– The educational committee will support the Council in developing guidelines for training in subspecialities, working in close collaboration with the working groups. The proposals developed will again be submitted to the Council of the Association for approval.
– The Council will instruct the Educational Committee to evaluate and advise the Council regarding proposals for requirements for training in Paediatric Cardiology coming from the Working Groups or external professional organisations.
• Teaching courses and other educational activities
– The Council delegates to the committee the responsibility for organizing and co-ordinating the programme of teaching courses. This includes the teaching courses developed for junior members, as well as any teaching activity organised by the working groups. The Educational Committee should develop a long-term proposal for such courses, and will supervise and approve the submitted programmes of the individual courses. The content should be evaluated on the basis of the requirements for training established by the Association.
– The programme for each individual course or meeting will be approved by the Educational Committee, and submitted to Council for endorsement. Any programme requiring such approval must be submitted to the committee.
– The Educational Committee will help the Council in co-ordinating and stimulating the dissemination and development of educational material. This includes:
○ Educational material coming from teaching courses.
○ Development of the educational website, including teaching material coming from courses and e-learning.
○ Development of other material for training and teaching.
• European Examinations and Accreditation
– The Educational Committee will support the Council in developing the European examination in Paediatric Cardiology. This European examination is a service offered to the members, and will be a requirement for receiving the European Diploma.
– The Educational Committee should develop this examination in collaboration with the Council, such that success is at the level as defined by the requirements for training established by the Association. The format of the examination will be developed by the Educational Committee.
– A business plan for the practical organisation and costs involved will be developed and submitted to the Council for further evaluation.
– The first examination is anticipated to be organised by 2011, and will be reported during the General Assembly held during the Annual Meeting of the Association.
• Continuing Medical Education and possible Re-accreditation
– The Educational Committee will assist the Council in defining the requirements for continuing medical education, and possible re-accreditation in Paediatric Cardiology.
• Members of the Educational Committee
– The members of the educational committee will be appointed by Council.
– Election as a member will be based on expertise in educational matters, and commitment to the development to the above mentioned aims.
– Working groups should be encouraged to propose a suitable member from their ranks to join the committee to become involved in developing requirements for training, and accreditation examinations, for the working group.
– 5 members will be appointed for an initial period of 3 years, with the option to prolong the appointment for one further period.
– One of the members of the Committee shall come from the Council, and another should represent the junior members of the Association.
The Council will decide on the financial support of the Committee according to its activities and targets.
Replacement of Councillors and Officers
At the Business Meeting to be held in Barcelona in September, 2009, our treasurer, Klaus Schmidt, will step down from office, to be succeeded by Joerg Stein, from Innsbruck. Our President, André Bozio, will be replaced in 2010. Council, therefore, is seeking proposals for one Councillor, and the President-Elect. Nominations for these positions must be signed by 5 ordinary members, drawn from 2 or more countries, and should be received by the Secretary-General at least 4 months in advance of the next Annual Meeting. A form for nominations is to be found in the web page of the Association.
Since the Association will not hold an Annual Meeting in 2009, but will have a Business Meeting during the Congress of the European Cardiac Society in Barcelona at the beginning of September, the deadline for proposals is May 31, 2009. The Council will also announce its own nomination at least 4 months before the Annual Meeting of the year preceding the Annual Meeting at which the President-elect is due to take office. The proposed candidates should be working in a European country. The deadline for the nominations to be made by Council is April 30, 2009. Since we are the largest democratically governed Association in the field of Congenital Cardiology, we are anticipating multiple nominations from our members.
Business Meeting in Barcelona in September 2009
Due to the occurrence of the World Congress, to be held in Cairns, Australia, in June of this year, Council has earlier decided to cancel the Annual Meeting of the Association for 2009. This experimental decision will be reviewed on the basis of the visibility of the Association in the programme and organization of the World Congress. According to our experiences during the Congress, the Association will then decide if the Annual Meeting should be cancelled on the basis of such global meetings to be held in the future. This important issue will be discussed during the Business Meeting to be held in Barcelona.
Our constitution mandates that a business meeting must be held each year. For this reason, the business meeting will be held during the Congress of the European Cardiac Society. The Congress itself will take place in Barcelona, Spain, over the period August 29 through September 3. Our President is a member of the Programme Committee of the Congress. He has worked hard, together with Working Group 22 of the European Cardiac Society, to ensure that congenital cardiology is fully visible in the programme. We are sure that the Congress will have much to offer our members. We ask, therefore, that members attend not only the business meeting, but also the Congress, in great numbers. There will be many aspects of top-quality science presented during the Congress for everybody. During the business meeting, it will be necessary to make several important decisions that will guide the future course of the Association. Your presence in the Business Meeting is important for the Association! As there will be tens of thousands of participants in the Congress, please book your hotel room in good time, preferably now.
In closing,
We wish all of you a prosperous and favourable year 2009!
