by Günther Deuschl
The number of patients with neurological diseases will rapidly increase in Europe during the next 50 years. For some of the neurological diseases even a doubling of the numbers of patients is expected. Therefore more neurologists are needed. One of the most important tasks of the EAN is to support all attempts to increase the attractiveness of neurology as a profession and to improve teaching for students, trainees and residents in our field. The EAYNT, the European Association of Young Neurologists and Trainees has recently decided to become part of the European Academy of Neurology. They will in the future be an important group in the Society and will particularly address the educational issues for the young neurologists. The EAYNT has already a long history since 1999 as a separate entity based in Brussels with the major aims (1) to represent and inform neurology trainees at an international level, (2) to help those young neurologists who wish to spend time in other countries for clinical training or research, (3) to improve the neurological training by learning from the successes and mistakes of different countries. Presently 800 young Neurologists from Europe are organized within the EAYNT. Elegible are medical doctors in neurological training below 40 years. Their board consisted in 2014 of the following physicians:
President: Orsolya Györfi,Romania
Past president: Antonella Macerollo,Italy
Secretary: Monica Moarcaș, Romania
Treasurer: Péter Balicza, Hungary
Liasion Committee Officer: Laszlo Sztriha, UK
Education and Teaching Course: Edina Varga, Hungary
Observer: Johann Sellner, Austria
Delegates to the International Working Group of Young Neurologists and Trainees (IWGYNT): Walter Struhal, Austria and Cristian Falup Pecurariu, Romania
Delegate to European Board of Neurology and European Union of Medical Specialists: Walter Struhal, Austria
In the past the EAYNT has developed manifold activities which will be maintained and further developed. A main objective was and will be to offer special activities and programs for young neurologists during the annual congress. They are organizing a special session for career development, have a booth within the exhibition area to ease communication between young neurologists, they select recipients of travel grants for the congress and the summer school of the EAN. A special event is to have young neurologists visiting local neurology hospitals in the city of the congress to better understand the local way how neurology is practiced in the host country. They collaborate within the EAN committees and the scientific panels. They have their own newsletter. The EAYNT has made several surveys about the situation of education in neurology which have been published in different journals.[1-9] There is more to come in the future.
Together with the Board of the EAN I am very much welcoming the EAYNT within our growing Society. The Board of the EAN and all committees and working groups will help to develop the activities of the young neurologist section.
At the start of the New Year I thank all the members of the Board, the Committees and the Panels of the EAN for their hard work, their thrilling new ideas and the excellent innovations underlying the progress. Within this first half year of existence the EAN has already accomplished a broad agenda and we are particularly excited to welcome you at the first EAN congress in Berlin in June 2015.
1. Macerollo A, Struhal W, Sellner J. Harmonization of European neurology education: the junior doctor’s perspective. Neurology. 2013 81: 1626-1629.
2. Sellner J, Schirmer L, Erik Gilhus N, Grisold W, Struhal W. The Open Facilities for Training in European Neurology (OFTEN): an emerging pan-European exchange programme for junior neurologists. Eur J Neurol. 2012 19: e54-55.
3. Struhal W, Falup-Pecurariu C, Sztriha L, Sellner J. The European Asociation of Young Neurologists and Trainees: advocating young neurologists in Europe. Eur J Neurol. 2009 16: e146-148.
4. Struhal W, Falup-Pecurariu C, Sztriha LK, Grisold W, Sellner J. European Association of Young Neurologists and Trainees: position paper on teaching courses for Generation Y. Eur Neurol. 2011 65: 352-354.
5. Struhal W, Hess B, Sztriha L, Falup-Pecurariu C, Findling O, Sellner J. EAYNT: promoting training in neuro-rehabilitation. Lancet Neurol. 2009 8: 511.
6. Struhal W, Rakusa M, Grisold W, Sellner J. The European Board of Neurology Examination–junior neurologists are eager to take the challenge. Eur J Neurol. 2011 18: e89-92.
7. Struhal W, Sztriha LK, Rejdak K, Petzold A, Sellner J. International Issues: the EAYNT: ten years of unifying European junior neurologists. Neurology. 2011 76: e4-6.
8. Sztriha L, Struhal W, Falup-Pecurariu C, Sellner J. Successful workshop on evidence-based neurology organized by the EAYNT and the Cochrane Neurological Network. Eur J Neurol. 2010 17: e50-51.
9. Sztriha LK, Varga ET, Rona-Voros K, et al. E-learning preferences of European junior neurologists-an EAYNT survey. Front Neurol. 2012 3: 167.
