by Günther Deuschl
The European Academy of Neurology has existed for 4 months now and many of the first steps are behind us. The latest step is that we can accept members now from the administrative side of the process. Therefore I will use my President’s Page today to explain why you should become a member. According to the bylaws of the Society we will have institutional and individual members.
Full institutional members are the national neurological member Societies from Europe – presently the EAN has 45 national member Societies. National Societies from other continents can get associated membership. Also, European non-for-profit scientific societies dealing with subspecialties of neurology or non-for–profit neurological patient organisations can get associated institutional membership. They apply for membership via the Head Office with a written application.
Individual members are either full or associated members. Additionally, all members of member societies are so called passive members with restricted membership privileges. The standard membership is the full membership. Full members have active and passive voting rights for the Assembly of Delegates, the membership representation and highest democratic organ of the EAN. The privileges are far reaching. It includes free online access to the European Journal of Neurology (EJoN), our online-learning platform eBrain, the guidelines and – for those qualified – also educational grants. Also, the printed version of the EJoN can be purchased at a reduced rate (75€). Additionally, full members get access to the registered user area of the EAN website and monthly mails with the EAN electronic newsletter Neuropenews. Each member gets a printed membership certificate. The costs for the full membership are 150€ but once a full member attends the annual congress the fee reduction is also 150€.
We also do have reduced rates for students, residents, members from middle and lower income countries and for retired neurologists.
Beyond the qualification as a member of the EAN, there is a special category, the ‘Fellow of the European Academy of Neurology (FEAN)’ for neurologists who deserve a special recognition because they have contributed a large scientific achievement that places them within the European leaders in their field, but also service to neurological Societies and special services for neurological patients will be honoured by this membership category. The title of a FEAN will be granted by the Board of the EAN.
The application process for full members is simple: You can apply for membership directly through the web at http://www.eaneurology.org/Individual-Members.1642.0.html and become a member today.
Beyond being part of this new and emerging organisation, the Society is a network of colleagues and friends and keeps its members up-to-date with all relevant new information about the latest developments in the field. We are strongly recommending to become a full member of the EAN and to take part in this exciting new endeavour.
