Insight into the structure and tasks of the Early Career Members Committee of the European Respiratory Society

The Early Career Members Committee (ECMC) of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) consists of 14 members, one Early Career Member (ECM) representative per assembly. In September 2019, seven recently elected representatives joined the ECMC. An overview is given of the tasks performed by each representative within the ECMC (table 1). In addition, a short summary about the content of these tasks is provided.

Science Council

The mission of the Science Council is to promote the best science in respiratory medicine through the exchange of knowledge at the International Congress, Lung Science Conference and Research Seminars, and to disseminate science and information through scientific publications and guidelines. The Science Council also supports scientific and research activities through fellowships, task forces, research awards, clinical research collaborations and sponsorship. Currently, the ECM representative has no right to vote on the Science Council's decisions and is expected to actively contribute to all discussions that lead to decisions made by the Council. The ECM representative's role is to ensure that involvement of ECMs is stimulated and supported as much as possible.

Guideline Working Group

The ERS Guideline Working Group is the body within the ERS that assesses task force applications. The Guideline Working Group advises the ERS Science Council on which task forces should be accepted, resubmitted with amendments, or rejected. The aim of an ERS task force must be to develop a high-quality, trustworthy document on the management (diagnosis, prevention and/or treatment) of a respiratory disease in a timely manner (i.e. within 2 years). The final document can either be a clinical practice guideline, a statement, a technical standard or a conference proceeding. The ECM representative is a full member of the Guideline Working Group, and is expected to actively contribute to all discussions and decisions made by the group.

Education Council

The ERS Education Council is responsible for organising, implementing and promoting independent and high-level education across Europe, and has thus developed a comprehensive strategy focusing on e-learning, interactive teaching and harmonising education standards. The most important educational activities include HERMES examinations, courses, e-learning and education activities during the International Congress. The HERMES projects aim to harmonise education in respiratory medicine for European specialists. The external courses include a variety of topics and forms such as Research Seminars and hands-on workshops. The ERS International Congress always presents a stimulating educational programme including postgraduate courses, Meet the Expert sessions, challenging clinical cases, professional development and skills workshops, and examinations. The ECM representative is a full member of the Education Council, and is expected to actively contribute to all discussions and decisions made by the group, and hence is allowed to vote during elections held within the Education Council. Additionally, the ECM representative is asked to evaluate new educational activities and to ensure that the vision of ECMs is considered while developing the educational programme.

ERS International Congress

During the International Congress, the ECMC organises several activities and is actively involved in sessions designed for ECMs, such as the ECM session on Tuesday afternoon prior to the Networking Event, and professional development workshops.

European Board for Accreditation in Pneumology

The EBAP (European Board for Accreditation in Pneumology) training centre accreditation programme is developing and currently there are only a few accredited centres, but more are expected to be accredited in the future. The ECM representative acts as an observer, and is expected to actively contribute to all discussions and decisions made by the group.

Publications Committee

The Publications Committee coordinates the aims, targets and overall scope of the ERS publications portfolio in different fields and media. The ECM representative is expected to play an active role in the aims of the Publications Committee, in particular, representing the viewpoint of the ECMC (and ECMs in general) in the positioning of publishing as a key part of career development. The ECM representative may be well-positioned to highlight and support emerging trends within the publishing industry.

European Lung Foundation

The European Lung Foundation (ELF) was founded by the ERS in 2000 with the aim of bringing together patients and the public with respiratory professionals to positively influence lung health. The ECM representative is an official member of the professional advisory committee and is expected to help coordinate the review of patient factsheets and other documents, and with recruitment of ECMs for ELF events.

Communications

Communication between the ECMC and ECMs is performed via the ECMC website on the ERS homepage (www.ersnet.org/the-society/who-we-are/leadership/early-career-members-committee),via social media (Facebook, Research​Gate and Twitter) and via the Early Career Forum in Breathe.

International collaborations

Collaboration with other international and national societies with similar interests contribute to the promotion of the agenda of the ECMC and ERS in general. The ERS and the ECMC have established collaborations with the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and the Chinese Thoracic Society. The task of the ECM representative is to liaise with ECMs of other societies to obtain fruitful collaborations in the future.