European Training Requirements (ETR) in Ophthalmology

“The European Training Requirements (ETR) in Ophthalmology and their genesis”

 

The EBO / UEMS Section of Ophthalmology European Training Requirements were unanimously approved during the last UEMS Advisory and UEMS Council meetings held onsite on the 18^th and 19^th October 2024. The complete document was published and is presently available on the UEMS website here: and can also be downloaded here.

 

What Are ETRs?

Together with the UEMS Section of Ophthalmology, the EBO has developed common European Training Requirements (ETRs) for ophthalmologists, ensuring that specialists are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and professionalism necessary to provide high-quality eye care. The ETRs are designed to guide residency training, harmonize postgraduate medical education, and promote a curriculum that supports the development of well-rounded ophthalmologists. The ETRs were developed with input from European ophthalmic societies with over seventy ophthalmologists – leaders in the discipline and in medical education – equitably embracing geographical, subspecialty, cultural, and generational diversity.

 

How Did They Come About?

In Europe, the pursuit of high-quality healthcare is closely tied to the development of medical education, with the goal of ensuring patient safety and delivering effective care. The European Union has implemented policies that facilitate the free movement of healthcare professionals and patients, encouraging the harmonization of medical training standards across member states.

This includes the adoption of the UEMS Charter on Post Graduate Training

(PGT) in 1994, which laid the foundation for a unified approach to medical education. Over time, the EU introduced directives like 2011/24/EU and 2013/55/EU, which aimed to standardize the quality of medical care and ensure mobility for healthcare professionals across the continent. In ophthalmology, this drive for educational consistency led to the creation of the European Board of Ophthalmology (EBO) in 1992, who run the wellrespected EBOD (European Board of Ophthalmology Diploma) exam. The development of ETRs with UEMS marks the next stage in developing a harmonised approach to comprehensive and specialist training for ophthalmologists across the UEMS countries.

By emphasizing structured, competency-based education, the EBO aims to improve and standardize ophthalmology training across Europe, benefiting both practitioners and patients.

EBO will be making efforts in the coming weeks and months to further publicise and make these ETRs more user friendly and accessible for training departments across Europe. We welcome your comments and suggestions on how best to do this.

In the meantime, the complete ETR document can be downloaded from the UEMS website or  here .

 

References and Research

• Is it the right time to promote competency-based European Training Requirements in Ophthalmology? A European Board of   Ophthalmology

• Cataract surgical training in Europe: European Board of Ophthalmology

• Training in cataract surgery in Spain: analysis of the results of a survey of the European Board of Ophthalmology in a Spanish cohort.

• [Cataract surgery training in France: Analysis of the results of the European Board of Ophthalmology survey in the French cohort].

• Cataract surgical training: Analysis of the results of the European Board of Ophthalmology survey in the Swiss cohort.