European Association of Nuclear Medicine: adapt the present, shape the future

Abstract

The European Association of NuclearMedicine was born on 6 September 1985 after “a difficult but exciting delivery”, as Professor Peter Ell described it in the book Nuclear Medicine: Fusing the Ideas of Democritus and Hippocrates – 25 Years of the EANM. Since this delivery, EANM has grown up to become one of the most powerful scientific organizations in the field of biomedical imaging and therapy, with highly professional executive organs and office. In parallel with this evolution, the medical field has changed, and thereby also the position of nuclear medicine within medicine. The EANM Executive Committee is committed to implementing within the Association those changes required to adapt to the evolving scenario that characterizes the medical field. Priorities have been identified and action plans put in place to achieve this goal. Among the various priorities, radiopharmaceutical availability, demonstration of clinical evidence of nuclear medicine procedures and education are considered the most important. It has also been decided that partnerships with other scientific societies, industry and patients’ organizations should be strengthened. These partnerships will enhance the influence of EANM in the medical field, highlighting the usefulness of nuclear medicine diagnostic and therapeutic procedures to the ultimate benefit of patients. Several actions are being coordinated by the EANM Executive Committee to deliver tangible results to the nuclear medicine community. In particular, at the Annual Congress of the EANM in Lyon, the Association put forward two major proposals designed to foster its development: an extension of its name with the phrase “Biomedical Imaging and Therapy for Personalised Healthcare” and a thorough revision of the Bylaws and Rules. Both the Delegates’ and the Members’ Assemblies approved with very large majorities the new “Statutes” that will replace the Bylaws and Rules from 1 January 2014. This revision was prepared by a Constitution Committee mandated by the Executive Committee for formal and strategic reasons. Formal reasons were, for example, redundancies in the Bylaws and Rules and descriptions of functions that were no longer adequate (such as “Task Group Coordinator”). Strategic considerations included, for example, the growing role of education, which is now one of the most important activities of the EANM. The current Bylaws do not mention the European School of Nuclear Medicine (ESNM), nor do they specify the role of the Dean. Another important strategic aim is to make the EANM Congress the leading event in our field worldwide, which requires continuity in planning of the scientific and educational content. All this has been taken into account in the drawing up of the new Statutes. EANM Executive Committee members: Fred Verzijlbergen, Room Na602, Erasmus MC Central Location, CA Rotterdam, Netherlands; Arturo Chiti, Medicina Nucleare, Istituto Clinico Humanitas, Rozzano MI, Italy; Savvas Frangos, Nuclear Medicine Department, Bank of Cyprus Oncology Center, Strovolos, Nicosia, Cyprus; Jure Fettich, Department for Nuclear Medicine Radiopharmacy and Clinical Biochemistry, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Bernd Joachim Krause, Klinik und Poliklinik fur Nuklearmedizin, Universitatsklinikum Rostock, Rostock, Germany; Dominique Le Guludec, Service de Medecine Nucleaire, Hopital Bichat, Paris, France; Wim Oyen, Department of Nuclear Medicine (756), Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, Netherlands