EBCOG Strategy

News / 22 January 2009

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EBCOG Strategy Plan

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The aims and objectives of EBCOG are to improve the health of women and their babies by seeking to achieve the highest possible standards of training and care in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology (referred to hereinafter as O & G) in all European countries.

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EBCOG works to attain these aims and objectives by:

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  1. Advocating for O & G issues to be advanced in and by UEMS.

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  2. Advocating for O & G issues to be advanced in EU political institutions.

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  3. Providing opinions and producing position papers.

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  4. Developing standards of care.

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  5. Advocating for O & G issues to be advanced in EU related NGOs and platforms.

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  6. Providing information about current and upcoming EU legislation and directives relevant to O & G to EBCOG member societies thereby helping each national society to prepare optimally for changes to come. Also providing input from member societies to UEMS and EU institutions.

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  7. Arranging the European Congress of O & G providing an open forum for the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and inspiration.

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  8. Arranging educational courses in between the congresses.

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  9. Linking EBCOG member societies at Council meetings enabling European O & G to speak with one voice and ensuring a broad European geographical representation within EBCOG and its activities.

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  10. Linking the European Subspecialist Societies and the many other European organisations in O & G in order to make EBCOG’s perceptions nuanced and balanced.

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  11. Cooperating with wider scientific societies.

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  12. Linking European O & G to other regional and international organisations in order to make the voice of Europe heard and exchange ideas, knowledge and inspiration.

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  13. Linking to ENTOG with the aim of keeping O & G an attractive specialty able to recruit.

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  14. Linking to the Permanent Working Group of Junior Doctors to keep O & G an attractive specialty able to recruit.

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  15. Working through the Standing Committee for Training and Assessment to improve training and education in O & G.

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  16. Working through the Standing Committee on Hospital Recognition to accredit training centres in O & G and in the subspecialties and to encourage National visitation and accreditation systems.

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  17. Being open and informative towards member societies and the public and enhancing public trust in the specialty.

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EBCOGs strategy to reach these aims and objectives is the following:

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  1. Advocating for O & G issues to be advanced within and by UEMS, and in EU political institutions.

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  2. By seeking personal contacts within the EU Commission, the EU Parliament and the European Council we shall identify where and when O & G issues are being dealt with. This work will be resumed when the June 2009 elections are over, we shall evaluate in late 2009.

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  3. Within the EBCOG group of officers and executives, someone will be responsible for the contact with the EU system. Evaluate late 2009.

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  4. In the long term, EBCOG shall establish a presence in Bruxelles with a staff responsible for contacts to the EU system.

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  5. Advocating for O & G issues to be advanced in EU related NGOs and platforms.

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  6. By seeking personal contacts with EU related NGOs and platforms we shall identify where and when O & G relevant matters are being dealt with. EBCOG works together with the European Midwives Association (EMA). Evaluate late 2009.

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  7. Providing information about current and upcoming EU legislation and directives relevant to O & G to EBCOG member societies thereby helping each national society to prepare optimally for changes to come. Also providing input from member societies to EU institutions.

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  8. EBCOG needs to monitor EU discussions and legislative initiatives in order to be constantly updated. Someone within the group of EBCOG officers and Executives needs to be responsible for this until a permanent and staffed representation in Bruxelles is achieved. Evaluate late 2009.

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  9. Arranging the European Congress of O & G providing an open forum for the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and inspiration.

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  10. The European Congress of O & C is currently bi-annual, but EBCOG should consider changing it into an annual event. The Congress is a major source of income for EBCOG, but the income to EBCOG from the Congress should be increased even more by EBCOG assuming more responsibility for the Congress. This will on the other side inevitably also mean that EBCOG’s financial risk will increase should a Congress fail and produce a negative financial result. We are negotiating with Semico for changing the contract for 2010. Evaluate summer 2009.

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  11. Arranging educational courses in between the congresses, e.g. the Training the Trainers courses.

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  12. Linking EBCOG member societies at Council meetings enabling European O & G to speak with one voice.

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  13. Membership of EBCOG and participation in EBCOG Council meetings must be perceived as useful and worthwhile by the member societies. EBCOG must solicit evaluation from member societies and encourage member societies to bring in ideas for new areas of activities. This will be discussed and evaluated at Council meetings.

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  14. EBCOG will ensure a broad European geographical representation in all its activities to ensure that it represents obstetricians and gynaecologists throughout the whole of Europe.

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  15. EBCOG will set up a European Standards Working Group to produce common European Standards of Care in both O & G and will, when appropriate, give opinions and produce EBCOG position papers to provide a common voice on specific topics. Evaluate late 2009.

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  16. EBCOG´s home page must informative and attractive. We have appointed a dedicated and knowledgeable web master. Evaluate late 2009.

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  17. We must regularly produce and publish newsletters that can be used by member societies for distributing information about EBCOG activities to their individual members. Evaluate late 2009.

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  18. When invited, EBCOG will be present at National meetings of O & G.

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  19. Linking the European Subspecialist Societies and the many other European organisations in O & G in order to make EBCOGs perceptions nuanced and balanced.

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  20. The Subspecialist Societies are present at Executive and Council meetings and they arrange session at the European Congress of O & G.

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  21. Other European O & G societies and organisations are represented through the SCTA and may also arrange sessions at the congress.

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  22. Cooperate with a wide range of scientific societies via the SCTA.

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  23. When invited, EBCOG should reciprocate.

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  24. Linking European O & G to other regional and international organisations in order to make the voice of Europe heard and exchange ideas, knowledge, and inspiration.

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  25. EBCOG – like other regional associations – has an observer seat at the Executive Board of FIGO and is and will remain active in FIGO. EBCOG should be visible at the FIGO Congresses.

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  26. EBCOG has close bonds to ACOG and the two organisations are present at the counterpart’s annual or biannual meetings.

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  27. Linking to ENTOG with the aim of keeping O & G an attractive specialty able to recruit.

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  28. ENTOG is a very important partner organisation for EBCOG and is present at all EBCOG meetings, working groups, and committees, and ENTOG has voting rights.

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  29. ENTOG and EBCOG have a joint working group analysing recruitment also from the gender perspective. A first report will be presented at the Council Meeting in Brussels, in November 2009.

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  30. EBCOG and ENTOG will work together on joint projects and will coordinate whenever possible the timing and venue of an EBCOG meeting with the annual ENTOG Exchange Programme.

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  31. EBCOG will consider establishing an exchange programme to support the training and movement of trainees in Europe. Such exchanges could include a research dimension.

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  32. Linking to the Permanent Working Group of Junior Doctors (PWG) to keep O & G an attractive specialty able to recruit. The PWG has voting rights.

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  33. Working through the Standing Committee for Training and Assessment (SCTA) to improve training and education in O & G.

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  34. SCTA establishes a European exchange programme financed by EBCOG. Evaluate by late 2009.

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  35. Logbooks for general O & G and subspecialist training have been established but they must be kept updated. SCTA must determine when to evaluate.

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  36. SCTA survey the situation in the European countries covering.

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  37. Contents and methods of education.

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  38. Knowledge (Theory)

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  39. Practice

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  40. Financing of training

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  41. By the state

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  42. By the hospital / patients

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  43. By private practice / patients

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  44. By scholarship

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  45. Certified places for education.

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  46. Legal aspects:

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  47. insurance for civil law,

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  48. insurance for criminal law,

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  49. responsibilities.

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  50. Subspecialisation.

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  51. Value of education and subspecialisation in $ or €.

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  52. Working through the Standing Committee on Hospital Recognition to accredit training centres in O & G and in the subspecialties and to encourage National visitation and accreditation systems.

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  53. EBCOG´s visitation programme in general O & G was established more than 10 years ago and has been supplemented with similar programmes in the four subspecialties.

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  54. The programme has been instrumental in the development of National programmes in an increasing number of countries.

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  55. EBCOG wants this activity to continue and meet requests for visitation both in general O & G and in the subspecialties.

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  56. Being open and informative towards member societies and the public and enhancing public trust in the specialty.

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  57. EBCOG needs to have a more active web site. EBCOG has appointed a new web master and we may expect major changes to be visible within 2009.

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