UEMS/EBNM endeavour – celebrations keep going!

Abstract

The European Association of Nuclear Medicine web site states under “History” that “The EANM was founded on September 6, 1985 in London as the result of a merger between the Society of Nuclear Medicine Europe and the European Nuclear Medicine Society”. It was the last day of the 1985 European Nuclear Medicine Congress held in London [1]. I was one of the many lucky ones to see that happen. After completing nuclear medicine specialization training in Portugal (1984), I was in London (at the Institute of Nuclear Medicine, Middlesex Hospital and Medical School) finishing a course of studies to be awarded the MSc degree [2] in nuclear medicine and preparing to enter a PhD course of studies at the Faculty of Medical Sciences, UCL, University of London [3]. In Milan 2012 the nuclear medicine community was happily celebrating the “silver jubilee” of the EANM. All those interested in the use of radiopharmaceuticals for diagnosis, therapy and research joined in Milan to wish a happy future for nuclear medicine. The UEMS Section and the European Board of Nuclear Medicine (UEMS/EBNM) were present to demonstrate its importance in the practice of clinical nuclear medicine. Several events took place and the results were highly successful. Next year it is 25 years since nuclear medicine was recognized as a medical specialty in Europe (1988). Formal recognition as a separate medical specialty within the UEMS was achieved in 1989. We have, therefore, two years to celebrate the 25th Anniversary (“silver jubilee”) of the recognition of nuclear medicine as a mono-specialty in Europe and UEMS. But celebrations will continue into 2015, since it was in 1990 that the Section of Nuclear Medicine was created in the UEMS. The present outlook is therefore one of recurrent festivities. Outcome measures need to be implemented in order to assess performance, efficacy and determine the benefits for the specialty arising from our work. These have to focus around our main objectives: