by Alice Accorroni, Resident and Research Fellow Section (RRFS) Chair
Dear RRFS members, friends and colleagues,
This year marks a special milestone for the EAN and the RRFS: the 10th anniversary of our unwavering dedication to shaping the landscape of neurology and fostering its future. None of this would have been achievable without the support of RRFS representatives and members, who have been tirelessly accompanying us on our journey. We also owe our growth to the nurturing exchange with the EAN Board and the support from the EAN Head Office.
For many of its members, the RRFS has been more than just an organisation; it has represented an essential space for growth and recognition, a source of inspiration, mentorship, and invaluable exchanges with brilliant colleagues.
Serving as an officer of the RRFS has afforded me the opportunity to reciprocate the enriching experiences I have accessed, and I am thrilled to continue the legacy forged by previous passionate officers who have played pivotal roles in shaping what we now recognise as the home of neurology in Europe.
The RRFS community has flourished remarkably since its inception. Starting with just over 150 members in 2016, we now boast a robust membership of more than 2,000 individuals representing over 100 countries, comprising half of the EAN individual members. This would not have been possible without the EAN’s continuous investment in excellent and diverse educational and scientific opportunities, such as schools, grants and fellowships.
Our EAN-RRFS national representative network (NRN), established in 2016 to foster a community of junior national representatives, has expanded to currently encompass 38 countries. We pride ourselves on championing gender balance within our group, with a commendable equilibrium of 53% women and 47% men holding RRFS representative positions. However, we remain conscious of the disparities in national representation within our community. Addressing this imbalance to foster an inclusive and diverse environment stands as a key objective of the RRFS, aligning with ongoing EAN initiatives.
Also, over the past decade, the RRFS has played a pivotal role in identifying disparities in neurology training curricula across Europe (Kleineberg et al). It also documented the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on training and research (Cuffaro et al) and shed light on the alarming prevalence of burnout among European residents (Di Liberto et al).
We have worked on the organisation of the ten-year anniversary celebrations and organised exciting events at the EAN congress with the unvaluable help of the RRFS Finnish representative, Henri Hokkanen.
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In fact, this year, alongside classic RRFS activities–including the General Assembly, the NRN meeting that represent strategic annual fora, and the RRFS presentations at the scientific theatre–we have planned many exciting events. These include the Neuroart contest that will help us highlight the talents and creative expressions of RRFS members within the broader neuroscientific community. With the help of the RRFS representatives on the programme committee, we have crafted two RRFS-led TV sessions, one on the application of AI in clinical neurology and the other on the impact of migration of neurologists in equal access to neurological care worldwide. We are also looking forward to the RRFS Hospital Visit, followed by the special networking event on Sunday. You can find out more about this at the RRFS Booth at the congress.
The EAN congress has always represented a platform for RRFS members to showcase their research and build relationships that in the end create a supportive network that facilitates growth, instils confidence, and helps residents and research fellows thrive in their chosen paths.
Alongside the EAN, we are striving to continue to nurture this diverse community of exceptional residents and research fellows, giving them equal access to opportunities, and valuing their passion and motivation to contribute to shaping the home of neurology!
I am looking forward to seeing you in Helsinki and I am curious to see what the next ten years will bring to our community.
References:
Cuffaro L, Carvalho V, Di Liberto G, Klinglehoefer L, Sauerbier A, Garcia-Azorin D, Tábuas-Pereira M, Vashchenko N, Moro E, Bassetti CLA. Neurology training and research in the COVID-19 pandemic: a survey of the Resident and Research Fellow Section of the European Academy of Neurology. Eur J Neurol. 2021 Oct;28(10):3437-3442. doi: 10.1111/ene.14696. Epub 2021 Jan 9. PMID: 33368826.
Di Liberto, G.; Baldizzi, G.; Carvalho, V.; Cuffaro, L.; Sauerbier, A.; Klingelhoefer, L.; Vashchenko, N.; Pavlakova, L.; Sander, A.; De Visser, M.; et al. Impact of Burnout on Neurology Residents and Research Fellows in Europe. Neurol. Educ. 2022, 1, e200035.
Kleineberg NN, van der Meulen M, Franke C, Klingelhoefer L, Sauerbier A, Di Liberto G, Carvalho V, Berendse HW, Deuschl G. Differences in neurology residency training programmes across Europe – a survey among the Residents and Research Fellow Section of the European Academy of Neurology national representatives. Eur J Neurol. 2020 Aug;27(8):1356-1363. doi: 10.1111/ene.14242. Epub 2020 May 1. PMID: 32248603; PMCID: PMC7496990.
