by Vitalie Lisnic
The profile of the participants of the teaching courses (TCs) of the 16th EFNS Congress was analyzed for the 8th consecutive time since the 9th EFNS Congress in Athens, 2005. At the Congress in Stockholm 647 TC participants filled in the proposed questionnaire.
Most of the participants were medical doctors – 64.76%. The PhD degree had 18.39% participants; 21.95% were residents. The TCs were also attended by students – 2.94%. The participants were of different age groups. It is necessary to mention that the TCs are attractive not only to young neurologists or neurologists in training. The most representative age group consisted of persons between 41 and 50 years of age – 25.97%, followed by the age group older than 50 years – 23.8%. Only 11.75% were younger than 30 years. TC participants seem to be older than the average congress participant. Out of all congress participants in Stockholm 30% were younger than 35 years and 25% were younger than 44 years.
At the TCs a mild male predominance (M/F=1.12) was noticed.
The vast majority of the TC participants indicated being neurologists – 88.25%, but the TCs were also attended by physicians of other specialties: psychiatrists, physiologists, neurosurgeons etc.
The TC participants in the TC came from 73 countries. Most of the participants were from the host country – Sweden – 56 persons. The countries represented most at the TCs were as follows: Switzerland – 37, Germany – 35 and Iran – 31 participants. The average congress participants came from Germany, Sweden, Spain and Turkey. Only Germany and Sweden are represented in the top countries of TCs.
The majority of the participants went to the TCs by own means – 51.47%. A considerable number – 37.71% were sponsored by a company. 4.79% came to the Congress being covered by EFNS bursary, 2.94% – by bursary of the national society.
The participants are satisfied with the structure of the Congress. 51.47% consider the scientific sessions appropriate; 41.42% – educational sessions. 22.41% suggest increasing the amount of educational sessions. Some participants are not satisfied with the speakers and suggest looking for better speakers; good according to the English language and good concerning the content of the talk. 42.66% suggest decreasing the registration fee. At the same time 27.2% find it appropriate. The majority is satisfied with the industry representation and interdisciplinary. 9.43% recommend reducing the industry representation, as – according to their opinion – there are too many industry-sponsored symposia. The networking events are also appreciated by the participants as appropriate.
In general, the participants evaluate the TCs as excellent, very good, and perfect for young neurologists; and very well organized. Almost all topics could be of interest for future TCs. The most frequently mentioned topics of interest are movement disorders, stroke, epilepsy, MS, dementia etc. There are suggestions to have more free sessions and to reduce the fee to neurologists in training and PhD students. The participants would like to have more informative handouts which could be paperless, to enjoy more interactive sessions, to offer more time for discussion and comments, as well as more patient demonstrations.
The syllabi of TCs will be available in the e-education area of the EFNS webpage.
Among all persons who have filled in the TC evaluation forms, 10 persons won a Syllabi 2012 CD-Rom.
We congratulate the winners:
Amel Ben Chehida, Sfax, Tunisia
Annette Fromm, Bergen, Norway
Paul Isler, Zurich, Switzerland
Larissa Kuanova, Astana, Kazakhstan
Vincenzo La Bella, Palermo, Italy
Miodrag Manigoda, Belgrade, Serbia
Georgios Papadimas, Athens, Greece
Izabela Popa, Timisoara, Romania
Tiina Rekand, Bergen, Norway
Biruta Tilgale, Riga, Latvia
Among the persons who have filled in the General Congress evaluation form, 10 persons won an EFNS package consisting of an EFNS anniversary bag, an EFNS T-shirt, an EFNS tie or scarf, etc.
We congratulate the winners:
Abdul Aziz Al Saman, Saudi Arabia
Desiree Fernandez, Dublin, Ireland
Titto Idicula, Bergen, Norway
Pawel Moskal, Krakow, Poland
Serdar Oruc, Afyonkara, Turkey
Olga Lucia Pedraza, Bogota, Colombia
Dorota Religa, Stockholm, Sweden
Irene Volonghi, Brescia, Italy
Elisabet Westerberg, Mariehamn , Finland
Terence Young, Coventry , UK
Dr. Vitalie Lisnic is working at the Department of Neurology at the Universtiy of Medicine and Pharmacy Nicolae Testemitanu in Chisinau, Moldova. He is a member of the EFNS Training and Education Committee and the EFNS Sub-committee on CME. He is the delegate of the Moldovan Scientific Society of Neurology to the EFNS Council.
