Development of the Revised European Requirements for Training in Neonatology

The European Requirements for Training in Neonatology (the Syllabus) represent a curriculum that has
been developed to support national training programmes in Neonatal Medicine, one of the Paediatric
Specialist training programmes as defined by the UEMS (Union Européenne des Medicins Specialistes)
through the European Board of Paediatrics (EBP). The new, 2020 issue replaces the first and second
editions of the Syllabus prepared by the European Society for Paediatric Research (ESPR) Working Group
for Neonatology, formally approved in 1998 and 2007, respectively. The document has the objective to
define the minimum requirements for training in Neonatology by adapting it to modern-day, clinical work
patterns and administrative realities. It strives to make the up-to-date process of training in Neonatology
following the core-training in Paediatrics transparent, while facilitating the incorporation of high-quality
national training programmes that were not easily reconciled with the modular system of the Syllabus.
The revision was led by a UEMS-appointed board of examined specialists in neonatal medicine with years
of experience at senior staff level, all being experienced neonatal educators with extensive knowledge in
policy development and members of the ESPR. The process of generating the Syllabus included the
review of existing European policy documents on training requirements, the second edition of the
European Training Requirements for Training in Neonatology (Version 2007), national European syllabi
and also recently-published, by an international collaboration, European Standards of Care for Newborn
Health. Furthermore, through the initiative of the European Board of Neonatology (EBN) – the ESPR’s
educational branch – consultations among representatives of >30 European national neonatal societies
were sought to actively contribute items for inclusion in the Syllabus to ensure international applicability.
The result is a truly Pan-European curriculum for neonatal training, including suggestions suitable for
countries throughout Europe independently of their level of income.