TY - JOUR T1 - Paediatric respiratory training in Europe: political, educational and historical perspective<sup>*</sup> JF - Breathe JO - breathe SP - 374 LP - 383 DO - 10.1183/18106838.0504.374 VL - 5 IS - 4 AU - M.S. Zach Y1 - 2009/06/01 UR - http://breathe.ersjournals.com/content/5/4/374.abstract N2 - Summary The paediatric Harmonised Education in Respiratory Medicine for European Specialists (HERMES) initiative of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) has produced a new European syllabus for Paediatric Respiratory Medicine [1]. This review will first briefly describe the political landscape into which this syllabus is released, including the relevant European Union (EU) regulations and principles and the role of trans‐European umbrella organisations. Special attention is paid to the difficult relationship between European training concepts and national traditions and regulations. Secondly, the review takes an educational perspective, after briefly describing the competency‐based approach to training and the current concepts of the European Academy of Paediatrics/Union Européenne des Médecins Spécialistes (UEMS)‐Section of Paediatrics on training in a tertiary care paediatric speciality. This review illustrates how the different segments of a training programme (syllabus, curriculum, learning aids and quality‐assurance measures) combine into a coherent whole. The parts of the programme that would be best provided on a European level are highlighted. Thirdly, this review briefly describes the historical background of the current situation, from the development of the ERS Paediatric Assembly to the first syllabus, with a brief look at the adult HERMES initiative, and finally the current activities of the paediatric HERMES project. Publication of the new paediatric respiratory syllabus can be considered as the first step on a long and demanding journey; the next components of the project and the political challenge of translating these emerging European concepts into national regulations are discussed in this review. ER -