Guest article by ESOR Director, Prof. Nicholas Gourtsoyiannis

Nicholas Gourtsoyiannis is the Educational & Scientific Director of the European School of Radiology (ESOR) and chairman of the ESR’s ESOR Committee.

The European School of Radiology (ESOR) has completed ten years in action. Ten challenging and rewarding years of unfailing commitment and continuous investment in radiological education in Europe. Ten years of envisioning, engaging, delivering, teaching, tutoring, nurturing, and adding value to radiology.

The three main goals of ESOR are still to assist in harmonising radiological education throughout Europe, by supporting the implementation of the European Training Curricula (ETC); to build a genuine and firm interest in subspecialisation in radiology; and to raise the scientific profile of radiological education in Europe and worldwide.

The past ten years of ESOR have been marked by an outstanding growth in a wide range of modular activities, including foundation and advanced courses, teach-the-teachers and visiting professorship programmes, visiting schools, seminars, tutorials, preparatory courses for the European Diploma in Radiology (EDiR), scholarships, exchange programmes for fellowships and full one-year fellowships. So far, ESOR has delivered structured continuing education to almost 17,000 residents and board-certified radiologists worldwide, through 800 programmes.

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For this month’s ESR News interview, we spoke to Prof. Laura Oleaga, from Barcelona, Spain, who serves on the ESR Executive Council as chair of the ESR Education Committee. She gave us an insight into the workings and recent achievements of her committee, as well as her own background within the ESR.

ESR News: What is the overall purpose of the ESR Education Committee and how does it operate?
Prof. Laura Oleaga: The purpose of the ESR Education Committee and its subcommittees is to promote education in radiology to achieve homogeneity in radiology education throughout Europe. To achieve this, the committee acts as a consultative body for all educational activities within the ESR and works closely with the European School of Radiology (ESOR), the European Board of Radiology (EBR), which organises the European Diploma in Radiology (EDiR), and the ESR’s e-Learning platform. The main objective of the committee is to achieve maximum quality in radiology training across Europe.

Prof. Laura Oleaga, chair of the ESR Education Committee

ESR: The committee interacts with a number of other groups and subcommittees. What roles do the European Training Assessment Programme Subcommittee (ETAP) and the Undergraduate Education Subcommittee play?
LO: Following the aim of harmonising the standards of radiology training in Europe, ETAP gives radiological institutions the opportunity to have their training programmes objectively assessed by external assessors nominated by the ESR, to guide their training in radiology according to the standards of the ESR European Training Curriculum for Radiology (ETC).

Moreover, it is important to promote the specialty of radiology in universities. In this regard the ESR Undergraduate Education Subcommittee is responsible for all activities aimed at the promotion of radiological education among medical students. The subcommittee has developed the paper Becoming a radiologist and is currently working on a guidance paper for all those interested or engaged in teaching radiology to medical undergraduates.
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This month, the prize on offer is free registration for a course offered by the European School of Radiology (ESOR), anywhere in Europe. Simply leave your answer to the question below, as a comment on this post, before February 23 (comments now closed). All correct answers will be entered into a draw and a winner will be selected by the editor of ESR News. The answer and winner will be announced by the end of February.

Question: What is the most likely diagnosis?

A. Maxillary antroliths
B. Gardner syndrome

Click here to reveal the answer

Congratulations to the winner of this month’s competition, Helene Gimonet!

Thank you to all participants and well done to those who got the correct answer. Keep an eye out for the March issue of ESR News and your next chance to win registration for an ESOR course of your choice.

Please note that the competition is open to ESR members only. The choice of ESOR course is open, but the winner must fit any eligibility criteria for the chosen course. The prize must be claimed within 12 months.

Click here for a current overview of ESOR courses.