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Personal viewpoint: Current trends and challenges of EFORT fellowships
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Since last year, I have the honor to chair the EFORT Visiting and Travelling Fellowships, succeeding Prof. Philip Neyret. I am professor of orthopaedics at Karolinska Institutet and senior consultant at Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm. Previous roles include presidency of the Swedish Orthopaedic Association and the Nordic Orthopaedic Federation, as well as secretary of education of the Swedish Orthopaedic Association, which included responsibility for the Swedish board exam in orthopaedics and traumatology.
During my Swedish presidency, we had the benefit to host the travelling fellowship program in the spring of 2014. The fellows visited both Stockholm and Gothenburg. I am greatly indebted to Dr. Marie Leksell, who at that time was president of Epiphysen (Swedish orthopaedic and trauma resident association), for managing the organization of the fellowship. It was a fruitful experience and time well spent.
The EFORT Travelling Fellowship Program aims to enhance and unify orthopaedic training, continuous medical education and knowledge transfer. The fellowship supports and creates new personal bonds to improve the mutual understanding, collaboration and unity of all national associations of orthopaedics and traumatology in Europe. The travelling fellowship program was established in 1995 under the chairmanship and bold vision of Prof. Dr. Miklós Szendröi, of Hungary, an EFORT past president. EFORT’s travelling fellowship program is flourishing and a proven success contributing to the legacy of EFORT. In June 2018 it was hosted in Ireland in cooperation with the Irish Orthopaedic Association and in October 2018 it is hosted in Portugal, organized by the Portuguese Society for Orthopaedics and Traumatology.
The EFORT Visiting Fellowship Programs are supported by different sponsoring companies. Their donations are used as scholarships and are granted to the fellows who are accepted for the visiting fellowship programs. The primary goal is to promote science and research in the areas of orthopaedics and traumatology within the EFORT community to make progress in the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders and injuries. Critical thinking and exchange of new ideas are fundamental for professional development, counteracting stagnation and as such, integral parts of every orthopaedic surgeon’s continuous education plan. The visiting fellowship programs are an excellent way to enable this development.
There are also several other fellowship programs: The Brazilian & Argentinian Visiting Fellowship, The Asia Pacific Orthopaedic Association (APOA) Fellowship and The Mark Paterson Travelling Fellowship (supported by Bone & Joint Journal and EFORT). All EFORT Fellowship Programs aim to support young and active orthopaedic and trauma surgeons. This is achieved by enhancing their professional skills through continuous education and providing them experiences on the latest surgical intervention approaches and new techniques in practical orthopaedics including trauma, as well as in orthopaedic and trauma science and pathophysiology.
Apart from orthopaedics and traumatology, our fellowships include study visits to other hospital or university facilities. The fellowship programs also include interesting social programs to facilitate interpersonal interaction to build professional relations and friendships for the future. The local hosts normally organize various social and cultural events, such as visits to local places of historic or contemporary importance.
The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was formalized in 2015 as the United Nations celebrated its 70th anniversary. It clearly points out today’s immense challenges to sustainable development as well as the opportunities of our time. Agenda 2030 pledges to foster intercultural understanding, tolerance, mutual respect and an ethic of global citizenship and shared responsibility. The natural and cultural diversity of the world and recognition that all cultures and civilizations can contribute to, and are crucial enablers of, sustainable development is acknowledged. The EFORT Fellowship Programs are crucial enablers in materializing the ambitions and goals of the UN 2030 Agenda by increasing international experience contributing to young orthopaedic and trauma surgeon´s professional and social development.
I am proud of the strong legacy these programs maintain in the European orthopaedic and trauma (OT) community. Our fellowship programs reach out for younger orthopaedic surgeons with a vision of professionalism and compassion, striving to strengthen and develop their knowledge and skills for the benefit of future patients. Our fellowship alumni have a unique experience contributing to cross-border shared orthopaedic knowledge, skills and attitudes. Such experience will play an even greater role in building tomorrow´s competence. A shared understanding of orthopaedic and trauma care, ethics and patient safety issues in different contexts will help foster and move forward OT prevention and care for improved human health and function.
Global challenges are ubiquitous and increasing. In light of this, our fellowship programs are important for increasing cross border understanding and contributing to knowledge sharing and optimizing both professionalism and sustainable development in the OT community. With the continuous contributions from all our member countries, the EFORT Fellowship Programs play an important role as a continuous source of inspiration and capacity building for the next generation of colleagues.
- For more information:
- All EFORT Fellowship Programs
- The EFORT Travelling Fellowship
- The EFORT Visiting Fellowship
- The Brazilian & Argentinian Visiting Fellowship
- The Asia Pacific Orthopaedic Association Fellowship
- The Mark Paterson Travelling Fellowship (supported by BJJ and EFORT)