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EFORT BAT Programme: Successful model for continued training
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BAT stands for “Basic, Advanced and Traumatology.” Under this title, EFORT cooperates with medical specialty societies to offer multi-level courses where participants can learn basic and highly specialized techniques in areas such as joint-preserving hip surgery. The BAT program is a complete success and will serve as a basis in the future for the continuing training activities of EFORT.
The BAT Programme is an ongoing training option for our colleagues. We develop BAT programs jointly with speciality societies, most recently with the European Hip Society (EHS), for example, says EFORT Secretary-General Prof. Per Kjaersgaard-Andersen. This approach has proven so effective that we want to make BAT our preferred model for continuing training. In other words, we will continue to resort to the specific expertise of the speciality societies for our courses. The concept of the two training levels basic and advanced also works well and enables participants to specialize step by step. Among Prof. Per Kjaersgaard-Andersen’s duties as EFORT Secretary-General are contacts with speciality societies such as European Hip Society.
Two courses in hip-joint preservation surgery conducted in Madrid and Bern recently showed how well BAT works in practice. Course Director Prof. Dr. Klaus Siebenrock from Bern University Hospital underscored the growing significance of joint preservation as an approach to hip treatment, noting younger patients in particular can benefit: When we speak of hip surgery, most people immediately think of joint replacement. But this is no longer true today. Through new surgical techniques, such as hip joint arthroscopy and safe surgical hip dislocation, a new and innovative field has opened up. In Siebenrock’s course, participants were able to learn important arthroscopic techniques and become familiar with the surgical anatomy of the hip joint. The level of training was so high that the course is also suitable as additional or continuing training for experienced hip surgeons.
Prof. Siebenrock: Previously, there was not much one could do in such cases. But we now have improved understanding of the pathophysiology of hip diseases and can therefore intervene accordingly. A typical example is hip impingement. This involves a deformity of the hip joint that leads to early cartilage abrasion. It is very common. One in every four men can be classified as an at-risk patient; women are less frequently affected. In impingement cases today one can intervene with arthroscopic and joint-preserving surgery. Conversely, osteoarthritis in elderly patients remains a typical indication for joint replacement. New capabilities in hip surgery have also led to an increased need for corresponding education and training opportunities. The evaluation results speak to the quality and high level of acceptance of this BAT course. All participants indicated they would book a comparable course again.
Prof. Dr. Klaus-Peter Günther, Chairman of the EFORT Education Committee, expressed satisfaction with how these efforts have gone thus far: The two courses in the Hip BAT Programme conducted in Madrid and Bern were very interesting events in terms of content. They were also well-attended with about 70 participants per course. The event in Madrid focused mainly on basic aspects of diagnostics for hip joint disorders, arthroscopy and joint-preserving treatment methods such as osteotomy whereas the event in Bern delved more deeply into highly demanding surgical techniques. Prof. Günther: The focus was on the current therapeutic principles for treating deformities of the femur and acetabulum. The event covered the entire spectrum of joint-preserving hip surgery, including large acetabular osteotomies. Excellent support from the local media center was an important aspect. This made it possible to broadcast a demonstration surgery by Prof. Siebenrock live into the lecture hall.
The BAT Programme is to be continued in 2016 with slight alterations. An even sharper focus is planned. Prof. Günther: Until now there have been certain overlaps between the two courses. We want to reduce those in the future to mark a clear distinction between the basic course on the one hand and the advanced level on the other. All in all, our objective is to adapt the course program to the European Curriculum of Orthopaedics and Traumatology now being created.
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- More info available on: www.efort.org/education/bat