Page 29 - NEWSLETTER_26

ΣΥΝΕΝΤΕΥΞΗ
Η ακόλουθη συνέντευξη πραγματοποιήθηκε μέσω Zoom. Απομαγνητοφώνηση & επιμέλεια κειμένου: Θεόδωρος Σπίνος, ειδικευόμενος Ουρολόγος & Φίλιππος Νικητάκης, ειδικευόμενος Γ/Χ
F.N.: How did you decide to become a urologist? What do you love the most about Urology?
E.R.: I find this the hardest question. Certainly, as a medical student the subject really appealed to me. But also, there was a very famous urologist in London, Professor John Blandy. He was very famous when I was a medical student in the early 80s and he had a fantastic little book called “Lecture Notes on Urology”. It was probably hugely influential. It was full of animations, and I liked how discrete the urinary tract was. So that was certainly what influenced me; I just liked it as a subject. Plus, the fact that we had some very good mentors that we are going to talk later about that influenced me. The other thing I remember liking about Urology is that even then it was very technologically advanced, meaning we were using transurethral surgery when most other specialties were using open surgery. I think Urology has always been innovative and it has maintained that with the use of robots for instance. So, it was many factors, I couldn’t put it down to one thing.
F.N.: Throughout your career, you
were responsible for the tuition of both undergraduates and fellow postgraduate doctors. How important do you think it is for a young urologist to have a mentor during his first steps? Did you have a mentor in your first steps in the field of urology?
E.R.: This is a great question! Hugely important! It is one of the most important opportunities when a young urologist is trained, to have a mentor. I was very lucky to have had great mentors in Ireland. In the USA, I was a fellow with Peter Scardino, who was one of the great pioneers of prostate cancer surgery along with Patrick Walsh, and later in my career I have met colleagues who were very influential, but I have mentors even now. I would call a mentor someone who has taught me the art of medicine. You know it’s not just empirical science, but also qualities like empathy, leadership, innovation, experience and judgement. The hardest thing I think to teach anybody is what we call in Ireland and, in the UK, common sense. These are the unspoken things that make a doctor a doctor. You know it is not just based on hardcore guidelines or innovation etc. I think that this
is what defines our profession as doctors. And I think these mentors who are good role models have helped enormously with that. But for any young urologist I would say: “Find a mentor”. And remember, patients are great mentors as well!
T.S.: Could you please describe us the thoughts, the steps and the procedures which led to the creation of the EAU Patient Office?
E.R.: I am the first Chairman of the Patient Office, but the events that led to the creation of the patient office preceded me. It was due to some very visionary people in the EAU. The concept, the whole idea of centering, empowering patients and engaging with patients was actually developed in the USA, as far back as the late 60s and early 70s, by the Institute of Medicine. They started involving patients and their families in their own healthcare and addressing not just the needs of treating the disease, but also how the patients lived with it afterwards. They showed that those patients had better outcomes, were happier and suggested that there was a survival benefit. They actually suggested that the impact of patients’ empowerment was as powerful as a new drug. And that has been out there and published for a while and there are other studies validating that.
So, the whole concept is not new, but, it’s new in Urology and I would have to credit Professor Hein van Poppel as being the original visionary in this. He had emphasized the importance of the patients’ voice through his work with the patient’s advocacy groups, which are relatively new in Urology. He was impressed by their professionalism, their interest in promoting patients’ needs and giving voice to the patients. These groups are also very scientific in their approach to collect data when they talk about their
Tεύχος 26 | Nοέμβριος - Δεκέμβριος 2023
29