Training in thoracic surgery within Europe-the different pathways

Initiatives of European experts in surgical education revealed a series of variations and disparities among thoracic surgery training programs in Europe. Some problems were common to all European countries. To give a general overview of the problem, as clearly pointed out by Massard et al., disparities among countries were identified in the certifying body, designation and domain of the specialty, length and content of the specialty, and number of operations required to obtain the national certification. A long list was developed of problems that need to be addressed before considering the possibility of a unified European training program. In 2014, the European Society of Thoracic Surgery -European Respiratory Society (ESTS-ERS) task force developed the first syllabus for our specialty and completed it with a training curriculum. These two documents provide a solid background not only for a unified European curriculum but also for successful trainee formation. Currently, certification and accreditation are country -specific due to different regulations among countries, making automatic recognition of certification impossible without individual evaluation. The European Section of Thoracic Surgery at the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS) is an office created for establishing a common standard of quality to certify the training of our juniors. Today, UEMS diplomas lack legal value in most European countries, adding just a quality -control diploma on top of the national certification and favoring internal selection within the country and certain international mobility of our specialists. On the other hand, information about the needs and expectations of European trainees is known based on the data obtained through surveys. Trainees all over Europe scored their training as highly satisfactory but identified areas of improvement. Among them, more formal training in research and an increased offer of international exchange programs were particularly important. Annual meetings, courses, and webinars are sound educational activities offered by scientific societies and well attended by trainees. Innovation and technology should be used to improve the quality of our training programs. The application of the syllabus and the training curriculum will improve our specialty. We are facing an exciting future in terms of education in thoracic surgery.