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FORTE Summer School in August 2016 to offer review course, EBOT exam course
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Editor’s note: In this article from the FORTE organization, members of the organization’s board of directors discuss plans for its first summer course, which is scheduled for 2016. Look for more articles from FORTE members in future issues of Orthopaedics Today Europe.
Standardization of the medical education quality in Europe is a growing concern as physicians and patients throughout Europe are increasingly more mobile and move readily from one country to another. Thus, the need to create a standard European educational platform and a European Board of Orthopaedics and Traumatology Exam becomes greater than ever. The exam is still not mandatory, but each year the number of applications to take the exam increases as trainees feel the need to complete a European certificate that shows they have a high-quality education.
FORTE is mainly concerned with educational standards and learning opportunities related to orthopaedics and trauma. In Europe, the summer and winter schools established in other medical specialties have had remarkable success. Therefore, we feel there is a gap in what is available to those who wish to better prepare for the European Board of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (EBOT) Exam. Proper educational material and specific educational events are lacking. Also, it is our understanding that an annual period dedicated to reviews/updates held in a relaxed and interactive setting would be helpful for many young trainees. Therefore, we wish to meet these needs with the creation of the FORTE book series and a FORTE Summer School.
The FORTE book series project is underway with the first volumes expected to be published in 2016. The FORTE Summer School is scheduled for August 2016. It will be the first event of its kind and a landmark among European orthopaedic educational projects. We believe it will be a tremendous help for orthopaedic trainees.
Purpose of the school
The FORTE Summer School will provide an educational opportunity accessible to all European orthopaedic trainees and one they can take advantage of at any stage in their residency training. One of the main goals of the school is to aid attendees as they prepare for the EBOT exam with a specific course that is open to residents in their last 2 years of training, whether or not they are applying to take the exam. Another goal is to provide a general, yet comprehensive review course (CRC) that is open to young orthopaedic surgeons and residents at all points of their training.
The format of the FORTE Summer School is one that allows time for study, as well as provides an environment that enables the informal sharing of clinical and training experiences, the exchange of information about case discussions and networking between course participants and faculty.
Details about the course
The week-long event is scheduled to be held in August 2016. Both courses — EBOT and CRC — will involve a 4-hour morning block and a 2½-hour afternoon block that can be viewed at the summer school area of the FORTE website (www.forte-orthopaedics.com).
The two courses will run parallel to each other. The advanced EBOT Exam preparation course is for trainees who are in their last 2 years of training, and the CRC is general and can be taken by trainees at any level. The goal of the EBOT Exam preparation course is to deliver knowledge based on case discussions and the group’s responses to multiple choice questions as per the format of the exam. The CRC consists mostly of instructional lectures.
After the sessions, individual or group study time will be provided. The evening programs will consist of more informal educational activities that promote networking among the participants.
An international venue
The FORTE Summer School 2016 will be held in Faro, Portugal, which has nearly perfect conditions for such a school, including a local university campus with a faculty of medicine, easy access to auditoriums and dorm room-style accommodations, an international airport that can be accessed from many European cities, and a city that can be enjoyed on a budget.
The faculty and modules for next year’s summer school are under development and we seek support to complete this undertaking from the European specialty and National Societies, as well as the scientific program group of the European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology.
Representatives from the European specialty societies are invited to help us develop and lead the working groups of the five different course modules:
- Basic Science: European Orthopaedic Research Society;
- Upper Limb: European Shoulder Association and Federation of European Societies for Surgery of the Hand;
- Lower Limb: European Hip Society Representative, European Society of Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy, and European Foot and Ankle Association;
- Spine: Spine Society of Europe; and
- Children Orthopaedics and Tumors: European Pediatrics Orthopedic Society and European Musculoskeletal Oncology Society.
We believe the FORTE Summer School is a major advancement in how orthopaedic and traumatology education is conducted in Europe. Not only will it provide trainees in all years of residency with an opportunity to complete an annual review, as it will be the first course focused on the EBOT Exam, but also the course will help facilitate networking between trainees at different levels of training. Attendees will be able to make personal contacts with a variety of experts in different orthopaedic surgery specialties. We think the more face-to-face contact there is, the better the cooperation will be among the orthopaedic societies within Europe.
Our main goal is to set a high standard and achieve high satisfaction from participants and the faculty, as well as to capitalize on gains from advanced educative and training activities.
- For more information:
- Tommaso Bonanzinga, MD, can be reached at email: t.bonanzinga@gmail.com.
- Gazi Huri, MD, can be reached at Hacettepe Üniversitesi Tp Fakültesi, Ortopedi ve Travmatoloji Anabilim Dal 06320, Ankara, Türkiye; email: gazihuri@yahoo.com
- Luís Machado, MD, can be reached at email: luis.miguel.machado@gmail.com.
- Nikolaos K. Paschos, MD, PhD, can be reached at University of California – Davis, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95156 USA; email: npaschos@ucdavis.edu.
- João Vide, MD, can be reached at Rua Alreado Guisado, n° 14, Bloco 2, 6° E. 1500-030 Lisbon, Portugal; email: joaovide@gmail.com.
Disclosures: Bonanzinga, Huri, Machado, Paschos and Vide report no relevant financial disclosures.