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E.O.E Newsletter | www.huanet.gr
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healthcare professionals to keep up with that. We are good at treating diseases, this is our job, it is what we were trained for. But our patients, as we said earlier, are now expecting more. Again, I would target the healthcare system to support urologists and meet those unmet needs. The patients are also facing new treatments; we have new technologies, new robots etc. How do urology patients navigate the process of information? Again, the answer is trusted evidence. This is where the EAU Guidelines Office plays a huge role. That’s the only trusted way, I think, new technologies are evaluated. That’s for sure a lot of work, because the data are overwhelming and now, we are talking about personalized medicine. We are talking about the genome, the microbiome etc. This is where the Patient Office can help; the Guidelines makes a very safe evaluation of new technologies and the Patient Office converts that information to lay language that the patient can read, trust and understand.
F.N.: Except from the patients, with which other groups and stakeholders should the Patient Office communicate and collaborate in order to achieve its goal?
E.R.: It should work with ally healthcare professionals, advanced nurse practitioners, physiotherapists, etc. They are very valuable colleagues. I had the great fortune of developing care pathways with them in Ireland, that are now implemented in the Irish healthcare system. They are tremendous colleagues;
they do bring another perspective and they enhance our interaction and the doctor-patient relationship. The other critical group are care givers. They are very important, because the patient is vulnerable and may not remember to ask the right questions. Many patients have a successful treatment but they are left struggling to cope with the consequences. So, listening to care givers is very important.
T.S.: Should residents participate in Patient Offices? Are there currently any residents working for the EAU Patient Office? What would be your advice for residents and young urologists?
E.R.: I have to say, you are really asking the right questions. The short answer is yes, of course the residents should participate in the Patient Office. We are now working with another core office of the EAU, the Young Urologists Office or YUO. Professor Liatsikos will be one of the leading educators, teaching residents about the soft skills, empathy, leadership, the mentorship values I talked about earlier. Also, there is the Talent Incubator Programme for young urologists, a programme that centres around soft skills. So yes, we need residents. They need to learn about soft skills, how to break bad news, how to show empathy. It sounds crazy, but these human factors are becoming important in medical education. Finally, we need to really put young urologists in different countries in front of the patient. In the future, If I would have the good fortune to come back to the Hellenic Urological Association, I would suggest to bring a patient to talk to us next time.
F.N.: In 1999, in conjunction with your colleagues, you received the Aneurin Bevan Award for exemplary management of urology patients at Central Middlesex Hospital in London. Can you express to us your feelings about this award?
E.R.: It was a great honor. I was a part of a team, it was not just me as an individual, it was a team effort and a team award. I had two tremendous colleagues at Central Middlesex Hospital in London. We received the award together with the urology staff and the management of the hospital, who deserve great credit. Innovation made us win the award;we developed the first ambulatory day care center. And we did that, by the way, by listening to patients and by getting their feedback. It was a healthcare innovation
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