However now is the time to move on. The new Serono Symposia International Foundation website will be different. The new features are based on a few key words: Searchable, User Friendly, Personalized.
We have introduced search engines for you to use to find online courses and congresses even via specific keywords, and the internal search engine has also been improved. The entire site has been developed to allow simple, straightforward access to the various parts of the website via multiple pathways, general and by therapeutic area. Furthermore, registration to the website now allows you not only to be warned of any updates, but have access to more personalized information.
The newsletter is another new feature. In each edition you will find articles, congress highlights and updates as well as a special interview to a major player in the science and CME accreditation fields.
We have also added potential to our Library. In the Library and Links section you will find not only publications and presentations, but also archived online courses, past congresses with final programs and abstracts, symposium reviews and links, lots of them! Our idea is to make this section on the new Serono Symposia International Foundation website a resource center for you, a place where you can come back to find more information, just like a real library.
A special mention is needed for our online course section. The courses have a better layout, the slides are clearer, and most of all, we are now able to deliver multimedia such as audio and video. We will certainly exploit this potential in the future.
We are not stopping here. We will continue to add new features to the website and many innovative ideas are in the pipeline. So stay tuned with us. There is a lot more to come!
Thank you very much
Silvano Fumero,
President, Serono Symposia International Foundation
My name is Bernard Maillet, born in 1958 and I have the same age as the Union of European Medical Specialists (UEMS) where I serve as Secretary General. I am Belgian and bilingual thanks to my parents. I am de facto multilingual because many meetings are in English and I am happy to understand quite well German and Italian. This helps a lot for the position.
I am Surgical Pathologist and still in active practice. This was a prerequisite for the position of Secretary General in order to be still in active contact with real medical practice.
What is the UEMS?
The UEMS was created in 1958, one year after the signing of the Treaty of Rome by the six founding countries of the European Economic Community as it was called in those days, and is the oldest of the European Medical Organizations.
The UEMS has three major "branches": the Council, where the National Medical Associations meet, the Sections and Boards, and the EACCME – European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education.
The Council could be compared with the EU Parliament, and it is where all the UEMS political decisions are taken. The European Union and European Economic Association Member States have their delegates and discuss matters concerning Specialist Doctors.
The Sections and Boards are organized per specialty and every country can send two delegates per Section. The main tasks of the Sections are the professional defense of the specialty and the harmonization of training throughout Europe. A new task was added recently: the cooperation with EACCME for the evaluation of the quality of events.
The EACCME was created in 1999 by the Council of the UEMS to help doctors to have their CME credits earned at International meetings recognized by their National Accreditation Authority.
How does the EACCME accreditation work?
The process is simple.
An organizer of an event sends the request with all the needed information in due time (at least three months before the meeting) to the UEMS - EACCME.
UEMS - EACCME will see which National Accreditation Authority (NAA) is responsible and which Section is concerned and will immediately send everything to the right places.
These two partners will give their evaluation in a clearly determined timescale.
When both partners approve the event, the Organizer receives a certificate.
Here three sentences are very important. The first says that the event has been approved for CME; the second gives the number of National credits granted by the NAA and the number of ECMEC’s granted by UEMS – EACCME; and the third sentence refers to the agreement on mutual recognition of credits with the American Medical Association.
The ECMEC's are the European CME Credits and were introduced in 2004.
They can be compared to the Euro as a European currency in CME that can be translated into national credits following the national rules.
The system is again very easy: one ECMEC per hour of activity with a maximum of 3 for half day and 6 for a full day activity. There are no additional credits for activities organized the same day such as Satellites.
In the future we must harmonize the process for all countries and all specialties. To help this process, a web-based request form will start soon (September 2006).
In what countries is there reciprocity and in what countries are EACCME credits accepted even if there is no formal agreement?
The UEMS - EACCME system is widely accepted in Europe.
In principle, the NAA's of the European systems accepted the system when it started in 2000. To clarify the process, UEMS - EACCME has now started to propose to the various NAA's to sign an agreement that clarifies the process. This has been formally signed now with Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Malta, Spain, Slovakia, Turkey and more are in preparation.
I must say that we have no major problems except with Italy that does not formally recognize the UEMS - EACCME credits but as far as I know no credits have been refused.
How do you see the future of CME?
How I see the future? Well, concerning the EACCME, having a well-working, efficient and strong European accreditation system that is widely accepted for its seriousness.
In the end it will have a positive effect in the harmonization of Health Care in Europe helping to achieve well-trained specialists in the different fields of Medicine for the benefit of the patients.
We must not forget that defending Specialist doctors is not only positive for the doctors themselves, but also benefits patients who will be in better "hands” and “minds”…
New fields of interest will come such as Long Distance Learning programs, Enduring Materials and Publications, but this will need some time to convince all the partners on the importance and needs in these fields.
Thank you very much.
For more information on UEMS please visit the website: http://www.uems.net
The following are brief reports from our congresses in 2006.
The congress gave an overview of the main clinical challenges in human reproduction including genetics, endometriosis, assisted implantation, and preterm labour; how important non-human primate research is to make scientific progress on these issues; and lastly, the ethical and economic aspects of non-human primate research in the area of reproductive disorders. Participants were particularly pleased with the level of the speakers and the high scientific quality of the presentations. Furthermore, a comment came that this was indeed a rare opportunity to meet such a prestigious faculty to discuss such a particular topic.
Click here for final program and abstracts!
The subject of this congress was a very brave one to bring forward in the light of the current stem cell discussion in Europe. When asked if the information provided in the program will benefit patient care, participants answered that the use of stem cells is at present still experimental and benefits will be seen only in the future when the advances in this field will reach therapeutic applications and help to avoid many pathologies. However the need for events such as Valencia's was underlined by the 99% satisfaction rate. Participants found the two round tables very interesting particularly because they had a chance to interact with a very qualified faculty.
Click here for final program and abstracts!
This symposium gave an overview on the opportunities that healthcare professionals working in the field of Reproductive Health have to ensure the infertile couple to receive the most cost effective and safe treatments to have a healthy child one at a time. Attendees expressed considerable satisfaction with the scientific program underlining that it gave a better understanding of pharmacogenomics. The topics discussed in St. Petersburg included the role of genetics and application of pharmacogenomics in reproductive health, the use of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) for infertility and PGD relevance for clinical practice, factors determining ovarian poor response, aspects determining ovarian high/over response and the management of treatment side effects.
 |
Symposium Review
Another new feature of the website are the symposium reviews. We have started with From Genetics to Patient Tailored Therapy Vision of the Future. |
The congress at Erice was highlighted by the presence of Robert Edwards, the "father" of IVF, who gave a presentation on Human Implantation: the last barrier in assisted reproduction technologies highly appreciated by the participants, the majority of whom stated that this conference was scientifically of a very high level and the quality of the lectures excellent, especially Session I on “ART and Implantation” and Session II on “Molecular Aspects of Implantation”.
Click here for final program and abstracts!
Regulation of Follicle Development and its Clinical Implications; May 12-13, 2006; Beaune, France
Following a first edition of this congress that took place in 2004, this second one was even more successful thanks to the scientific contents and the quality of speakers. Professor François Olivennes, Scientific Organizer, was considerably impressed by the large number of registrants and people in the auditorium during the whole event and thanked Serono Symposia Iinternational Foundation for the excellent organization. The symposia underlined the every patient needs to be treated according to strategies developed with the help of basic science research devoted to a better understanding of ovarian physiology. The inclusion of basic science and clinical experience was hence very appreciated by participants.
Click here for final program and abstracts!
 |
International variation in ART practice and data collection
Click here for the online presentations and audio recording of the symposium that took place in Athens, Greece on December 2-3, 2005. |
Unravelling the Puzzle of Multiple Sclerosis: Today and Tomorrow; January 14-15, 2006; Rome, Italy
The large number of people attending this event and their feedback show that the medical community is always looking for occasions to share data, results, and experiences and learn more through a Continuing Medical Education activity. This is the case of this event that produced a highly scientific and interesting programme covering the three factors that are thought to contribute to Multiple Sclerosis (MS): environmental factors, genetic susceptibility, and immunological response. Once these three factors were examined the focus moved to how this knowledge is currently being applied to new treatment avenues.
Click here for final program and abstracts!
Neurogenesis and Brain Plasticity; May 29, 2006; Lausanne, Switzerland
More than 500 people were present at this satellite symposium held during the 16th European Neurological Society Meeting on a topic that will have an increasing importance in the near future. Several participants expressed the need to go deeper into this field. They would like to have more time and more speakers on these subjects and proposed to organize future meetings (one or two days) on neurogenesis.
Click here for final program and abstracts!
MS Preceptorship; June 12-14; Barcelona Spain
The workshop was a big success. Attendees were very enthusiastic about the visits to the Vall d’Hebron University Hospital Unit on the first day and the Interactive Clinical Cases of the last part of the program. They were able to review the current diagnostic criteria for MS and the ongoing developments; describe the benefits of diagnostic tools, such as MRI or biological markers, in defining the natural history of MS and monitoring disease activity; review the latest clinical data evaluating the role of disease modifying agents; and demonstrate basic competency with treatment optimization concepts and approaches.
Click here for final program and abstracts!
 |
There are two new online courses in Neurology:
Treatment algorithms: Maximising the impact of treatment optimisation and Crossover Studies: Reflecting day-to-day clinical practice. |
Advances in Paediatric and Adolescent Endocrinology; March 11-12, 2006; Barcelona, Spain
This bi-annual two-day educational program, now come to its eighth edition, is designed to promote the exchange of ideas and research collaboration in paediatric endocrinology by bringing together investigators and clinicians from across the world. All of the participants appreciated the very high scientific quality of the lectures, especially GH treatment, obesity in children, idiopathic short stature, and management of intersexuality.
Click here for final program and abstracts!
This was the first major event organized by Serono Symposia International Foundation in Dermatology and it was praised for the scientific quality. Comments from participants included the fact that the scientific program was built in a perfect way, great balance between clinical and science, plus the fact that the immunology part was extremely interesting and useful as well as the diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines. After attending the symposium, participants had a clear understanding of the role of T cells in psoriasis pathogenesis, the main strategies for biological immunotherapy for psoriasis, psoriasis burden assessment, the rationale for the use of new biological therapies for psoriasis and the integration of biologicals into clinical practice.
Click here for final program and abstracts!
PHARMACOGENOMICS
Pharmacology and Pharmacogenomics of inflammatory diseases; March 24-25, 2006; Cannes, France
Following the 2005 congress Genetics of Autoimmune Diseases, Serono Symposia International Foundation once again organized an event geared to the future of science. Due to insufficient interaction between scientists and clinicians from different specialties, there is very little opportunity to share results and related concepts. This meeting became an opportunity for specialists in the fields of multiple sclerosis and psoriasis to discuss the general topic of pharmacogenomics applied to therapeutics of these diseases. The congress was a huge success with a satisfaction rate of 100%.
Click here for final program and abstracts!
|
Severe Systematic complications of Acromegaly New online course in Endocrinology and Metabolism!  |
|
What is Severe Psoriasis? New Online Course in Dermatology!  |
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
The increasing needs for fertility preservation and treatment in patients with malignant diseases and recent advancements in treatment strategies for male and female patients will be discussed in this symposium bringing together specialists from different fields in medicine and science who are interested in infertility and cancer.
NEUROLOGY
This is the seventh edition of this educational programme. It will stress the benefits of new diagnostic tools for defining the natural history of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and disease activity monitoring. Current diagnostic criteria for MS will also be reviewed in the light of new medical evidence. A review of recent clinical trials and treatment optimisation guidelines will also be presented.
This is an educational programme created to encourage the dissemination of scientific knowledge among nurses from all over the world in the field of Multiple Sclerosis. Presentations will provide the latest information in MS in the following areas: Advanced Disease Management, Problem Symptoms and Psychosocial & Cognitive Aspects. In addition to didactic presentations, group workshops will allow nurses to discuss these topics in relation to their own practice.