With training for gastroenterologists varying greatly across Europe, Drs Sophie Schlosser-Hupf and Jonas Staudacher discuss United European Gastroenterology‘s efforts to encourage collaboration and consensus and ensure high-quality care reaches all patients across the continent.
The growing burden of gastrointestinal (GI) diseases in Europe1 demands a highly trained workforce of gastroenterologists. However, the pathway to becoming a GI specialist varies significantly by country,2 with new research from United European Gastroenterology (UEG) revealing that only 52.5% of European countries have training centres accredited by the European Board.3
This creates an exciting opportunity for collaboration in further developing gastroenterology training across Europe to ensure high standards of care.
Leveraging diversity in training to learn best practices
Under the initiative of Dr Henriette Heinrich, UEG Education Committee chair, and Professor Martina Müller-Schilling, National Societies Committee chair, along with support from the Young Talent Group under the lead of Paula Sousa and the National Societies Forum, GI training programmes of all UEG National Societies Members were collected for the research.
Lead project members Drs Sophie Schlosser and Jonas Staudacher then evaluated the curricula to identify their respective structures and differences. The analysis showed that while the median duration of gastroenterology training was a substantial 60 months, the structure and content of this training were highly variable across Europe.
‘Many countries are working hard to provide competency-based learning, with 80% of curricula including such objectives and 77.5% outlining detailed learning goals,’ says Dr Schlosser-Hupf. ‘This sets a strong foundation.’
Endoscopic competencies were found to be a universal requirement, and 70% of programmes provided specific target numbers for procedures. For example, the median expected numbers were 300 oesophagogastroduodenoscopies and 200 colonoscopies.
Furthermore, 65% of curricula required experience in advanced endoscopy techniques such as endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography or endosonography. These represent areas where sharing best practices could help build training excellence.
Fostering collaboration for competency growth
Dr Staudacher advocates for fostering collaboration across UEG member states to improve gastroenterology training.
‘Analysis of training programmes does not imply developing identical programmes across countries, but rather the inclusion of core competencies and experiences in every European gastroenterology training programme,’ he says. ‘This is about building on the unique strengths of each country’s approach and ensuring all European gastroenterologists receive comprehensive training that prepares them for the challenges of clinical practice.’
Building on this idea, Drs Schlosser-Hupf and Staudacher suggest developing a European consensus on training standards that could establish recommendations for minimum requirements for training durations, clinical experiences and subspeciality opportunities.
The role of European societies in training
Organisations such as UEG are crucial for collaboration in GI education across Europe. ‘UEG is uniquely positioned to champion competency-based curricula development,’ says Professor Müller-Schilling. ‘They can play a pivotal role in building bridges between national systems, ensuring that the next generation of gastroenterologists continues to receive high-quality, comprehensive training.
Dr Heinrich adds: ‘No organisation can do this alone. Realising the vision of optimal training across borders requires collaboration among educational institutions, healthcare professionals and European societies to ensure that future gastroenterologists are fully prepared to meet the evolving needs of patients.’
References
- Rose, T. C., Pennington, A., Kypridemos, C., et al. (2022). Analysis of the burden and economic impact of digestive diseases and investigation of research gaps and priorities in the field of digestive health in the European Region-White Book 2: Executive summary. United European Gastroenterology Journal, 10(6), 657-662.
- Lamy, V., & McNamara, D. (2003). Gastroenterology and hepatology services in Europe. Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 18(Suppl 3), 90-92.
- Schlosser, S., Staudacher, J., Wagner, V., Unger, M., Sousá, P., Müller-Schilling, M., & Heinrich, H. (2024). Training curricula for gastroenterology in UEG-member states – Diversity as the potential for common growth. UEG Week 2024.
