Curriculum and Syllabus for Interventional Cardiology Subspecialty Training in Europe.

31 Foreword I am pleased to announce a new and important step forward in the definition of a common programme for interventional cardiology training in Europe. A meeting of the nucleus members of the WG 10 and the chairmen of the national interventional societies held in Stockholm during the ESC Congress in 2005 nominated a committee to finalise a preliminary proposal for a Curriculum and Syllabus I. This has been circulating and improved over the last 2 years and is based on feed-back received during various meetings held during the EuroPCR, as well as the ESC congresses in Vienna and Munich. The committee included experts in education such as: Professor Mills, member of the education committee of the ESC and author of the ESC Curriculum and Syllabus for General Cardiology; Dr Rolf Michels, representing as well the Union for European Medical Specialists (UEMS), Professor Jean-Luc DuboisRande, the promoter in France of what is today the only fully active national programme within Europe for interventional cardiology training; Professor Germano Di Sciascio, the education delegate of the WG10 Nucleus. After 2 days of hard work in Paris and London – coordinated and assisted by Dr Joanna Ortoli from the European Heart House – I am pleased to present here on behalf of this prestigious panel of experts the final approved document. This curriculum, however, will remain merely a vain proposal unless it is endorsed and promoted by the national interventional and general cardiology societies and is adapted to the different and specific characteristics of current cardiology training in each individual European country. We hope that the publication here and on the website will help this process, stimulating discussion on this important achievement of the WG 10 – an achievement which will be officially presented during a special meeting at EuroPCR 2006 in Paris, kindly organised by Professor Marco. Carlo Di Mario, Vice Chairman Working Group 10