The European Hematology Curriculum: An Electronic Passport Promoting Professional Competence and Mobility

A.M. Almeida Hospital da Luz, Lisboa, Portugal Istanbul University Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Istanbul, Turkey Department of Medicine Center of Hematology and Regenerative Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden European Hematology Association, Executive Office, The Hague, The Netherlands ICO-Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Jose Carreras Research Institute and PETHEMA Group, Badalona, Spain VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust and University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK Funding/support: None. Disclosure: The authors have indicated they have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose. Copyright © 2018 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the European Hematology Association. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons AttributionNoDerivatives License 4.0, which allows for redistribution, commercial and non-commercial, as long as it is passed along unchanged and in whole, with credit to the author. HemaSphere (2018) 2:3(e49) Citation: Almeida AM, Ar C, Hellström-Lindberg E, Hollegien WWG, Navarro JT, Saris MT, Wondergem MJ, Toh CH. The European Hematology Curriculum: An Electronic Passport Promoting Professional Competence and Mobility. HemaSphere, 2018;2:3. http://dx.doi. org/10.1097/ HS9.0000000000000049 ematology is a discipline that uniquely integrates clinical and laboratory practice across a broad spectrum of blood disorders. These range from common conditions Hsuch as anemia to rarer conditions such as leukemia and hemophilia. Furthermore, the boundaries of hematology overlap with many other specialties that include internal medicine, obstetrics, and pediatrics. In all areas, there is expanding knowledge in basic science and its translation into new diagnostics and therapeutics. This breadth and depth make hematology a complex and stimulating specialty, but also raise the challenge of achieving and maintaining professional competence. In modern Europe, where an enormous cultural diversity coexists with economic unity and worker mobility, it is essential that training in a discipline such as hematology is harmonized. This goal is in consonance with the Brussels Declaration on the Recognition of Professional Qualifications signed by 27 national hematology societies in Europe and the European Hematology Association (EHA), which states that: “The mobility of hematology trainees is of the utmost importance. Mobility stimulates the exchange of knowledge and experience in a profession that has, in terms of research, literature and continuing education, already developed a decidedly international orientation. Moreover, the mobility of trainees from Member States that are challenged in their educational resources allows for increasing competence to the level of best practices in Europe. ” In addition, there is significant population movement and migration across Europe that will alter local disease prevalence. As an example, red cell disorders common toMediterranean countries are now managed in Scandinavian countries where such conditions had rarely been seen. Harmonizing hematology training across Europe will therefore enable both professional motilities within Europe by ensuring equivalent professional competences by trainees from different countries but also elevating the knowledge and competence base of those remaining resident in their country of training. This will assure patients and healthcare systems of the professional competence of hematologists and ensure the availability of a shared platform to assess and improve the standards of hematology practice in Europe.