- International medical Journal & Association for Physicians
More than 1200 internists from across Europe and the world gathered in Amsterdam to attend the 15th European Congress of Internal Medicine on September 2 - 3. Prof. Mark Kramer, the Chair of the ECIM 2016, and Dr. Frank Bosch, the EFIM President, welcomed the participants during the opening ceremony. The largest number of participants came from Portugal (319) and Turkey (273), followed by Spain (134), Netherlands (85), Romania (47) and UK (42).
The scientific program focused on topics relevant for the internal medicine in the 21st century in line with the slogan of the congress: “Connecting with the Patient”. 12 Plenary sessions, 24 parallel sessions and 2 workshops were presented by well know clinicians from around the world. Prof. Rudi Westendorp from the Center for Healthy Aging at the University of Copenhagen addressed the audience with his presentation entitled “Ageing People - Who is at Risk?” discussing the innovative solutions for promoting healthy living and active aging.
Prof. Victor Montori presented the challenges associated with caring for patients whose life is complex because of accumulation of multiple chronic conditions. Other sessions included global climate change and health, patient advocacy, and education in the 21st century.
Participants at the congress had the honor to listen to Wouter Bos, Netherlands former Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister discussing the modern society, changing expectations and the impact in the medical sector. A one day Ultrasound for Internal Medicine Workshop was organized in collaboration with VUmc Amsterdam and Philips on Sunday 4 September for all practicing internists and internists in training interested to gain proficiency in the use of ultrasound in clinical practice.
A total of 1023 abstracts from authors in 45 different countries were accepted for electronic poster presentation during the congress. The greatest number of submitted abstracts came from Portugal, Spain and Turkey, followed by Tunisia, Greece and UK. During the Congress, 3 outstanding posters were selected to be presented by the authors in a special session.
FDIME presented the Research Grant for 2015 and awarded 3 best poster awards. Like in previous congresses, the best case reports were selected together by EFIM Young Internists and the European Journal of Case Reports in Internal Medicine. In addition to the inspiring and innovative lectures, the congress offered a serious game “The Battle”, which was introduced using an interactive format developed by the Section of Acute Medicine of the Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam. During this battle, teams consisting of 3 to 4 participants competed with each other in treating acutely ill patients. The 3 winning teams received their prizes during the Best Poster Award session.
During the congress, a Young Internists Corner was organized where varied and interactive program of debates and meet-the-expert sessions were held. The young internists had the opportunity to debate on Choosing Wisely at the End-of-Life session with well-known experts.
The two-day event concluded on, Saturday September 3, with a short introduction of new EFIM President, Prof. Runolfur Palsson who welcomed the participants to the next European Congress of Internal Medicine in Milan on September 1 and 2 of 2017.
The congress was granted 12 CME credits by the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME) of the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS).
Aneta Trajkovska
EFIM Executive Manager
Photo and video corr. by Medical Express.
Photo report of the 15th European Congress of Internal Medicine
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