Update of the ERS international Adult Respiratory Medicine syllabus for postgraduate training

Tabin, Nathalie; Mitchell, Sharon; O’Connell, Elaine; Stolz, Daiana; Rohde, Gernot

Like all fields in education, respiratory medicine is an ever-changing area and as such, respective syllabi, curricula and training programmes must adapt and diversify in line with the evolution of core medical concepts. Given the proven importance of the Adult Respiratory Medicine syllabus from both a national and international standpoint, it is of equal importance that said syllabus remains abreast of emerging trends so as to sustain the synchronisation of respiratory medicine in Europe. In order to develop an updated programme, a comprehensive review process of the current syllabus is a necessary endeavour and a step that the European Respiratory Society (ERS) has undertaken through the process of a needs assessment. ERS international Adult Respiratory Medicine syllabus for postgraduate training fulfilled with the publication of the curriculum in 2008. Based on these documents, the ERS HERMES examination was established to standardise the certification of knowledge following the completion of national training programmes in adult respiratory medicine [3] . The ERS HERMES summer schools were established and educational resources, such as the ERS Handbook of Respiratory Medicine, were produced to provide preparatory support for the exam. Furthermore, fundamental criteria required to provide quality training in adult respiratory medicine were defined for training centres in collaboration with EBAP. The target audience was postgraduate trainees.