EFIM Autumn Newsletter 2016

Dear Colleagues and Friends.

Welcome to the Autumn 2016 issue of the European Federation of Internal Medicine Newsletter.

I am proud and honored to assume the role of EFIM President and will do my utmost to promote further growth of the organisation over the next two years. It was fantastic seeing so many of you in Amsterdam during our highly successful congress, which was organised solely by EFIM for the first time. The attendance of more than 1200 participants vastly exceeded our expectations. In addition to enjoying a magnificent scientific programme, there were ample opportunities to meet, network and share experiences in internal medicine with colleagues. We will work hard on raising the bar higher at future congresses and are already engaged in the preparations for ECIM 2017 in Milan.

At the General Assembly in Amsterdam, Nicola Montano from Italy was elected future president of EFIM and I welcome him to the Executive Committee. 

The Executive Committee will focus on several important initiatives and projects in the coming year. The principal aim is to increase the role of the member societies in our projects, as this is essential to ensure continuing progress of the Federation. We need to join forces to increase the recognition and visibility of EFIM at the national and international level. Our office in Brussels will coordinate strategies aimed at improving the contact with the national internal medicine societies and their members. Through our efforts in the European Board of Internal Medicine, we will continue to work towards harmonising postgraduate education and qualification in internal medicine at the European level. The European internal medicine curriculum will hopefully be approved at the UEMS Council meeting in Brussels later this month. The next step will be implementation of the curriculum in the member states. EFIM will soon launch a Choosing Wisely campaign and we are currently seeking representatives from each national society to take part in this project. We will also make every effort to sustain or further advance leading EFIM activities such as the European Journal of Internal Medicine. Finally, EFIM will provide strong support for the initiatives of the Young Internists, who have become an important part of the organisation.

I hope to meet many of you again next year at the EFIM Day in Brussels on 17 March and at ECIM 2017 in Milan on 1 - 2 September.