The role of the ESC in education

Messages from the National Cardiac Societies   The mission of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) is to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease in Europe. In order to achieve this objective, the education and training of a workforce to deliver evidence-based clinical care, are essential components of the ESC strategy. The ESC has established widely recognized educational platforms online, in print, through congresses and other live events. As part of a strategy to ensure the ESC’s Education programme is ready to meet future challenges, the ESC has undertaken an International Organizational Needs Assessment on Cardiac Education and Performance Improvement. To further optimize the use of these resources, the ESC Education Committee wished to seek input from all the national stake holders about their needs and expectations regarding education and educational products. We designed a qualitative study to obtain the views of different National Cardiac Societies (NCS) with respect to their current programmes and future needs. We used the vehicle of the 3rd ESC Education Conference, an established gathering of leads for Education and Training of the ESC member countries. Delegates were nominated by their National Cardiac Societies. Fifty six countries were invited, 43 were represented with a total of 67 participants at the conference. The flow chart for the project is shown in Figure 1 (see full list of delegates on ESC Education Committee webpage) Figure 1 *National Leader: Introduce and trigger discussion by presenting the situation in their country. Education Committee Facilitator: Explain scope and objectives, moderates, time keeper, wrap up identified challenges, and suggested solutions on flip chart. ESC Staff: Compile identified challenges and suggested solutions on computer. We planned three key questions. Within …