ESU Online: the umbrella for EAU’s educational activities in times of remote learning
For about a year now, the absence of physical meetings has not slowed down the EAU’s ambitions in offering continuing medical education and training the next generation of urologists.
As an EAU member you will have noticed that in the absence of physical meetings, a lot of the EAU’s activities have moved online. This includes the European School of Urology’s many masterclasses, courses and training activities, which now fall under the banner of “ESU Online”.
These online activities address the hottest topics, the current state-of-art care and all of the latest technology. Perhaps most importantly, the ESU Online curriculum is accredited as opportunities for continued medical education have diminished in the past year.
Joint forces
This redevelopment of the EAU’s educational content is the result of the joining of forces between the ESU, the EAU’s Guidelines Office and Section Office. Each provided input into the new educational programme from their own unique expertise. A strategic planning task force was established, including representatives from each office. Their input was analysed and structured to create a holistic educational programme.
The topics were chosen to cover the rest of 2021, with activities scheduled between two to three months in advance. This allows ESU Online to act quickly to new developments, attract speakers and prioritise certain topics.
Topics are the most important distinction for the different curricula. Arranged by topic, a curriculum features a mix of different formats, such as live or pre-recorded lectures, e-courses, discussions, and so on. Together, these different modules offer participants a concentrated and structured way of learning, in a single topic-based overview of available activities. The first multipart curricula for 2021 have been kicked off: “Current challenges for optimal individualised management of LUTS/BPE patients” and “Personalised management of Prostate Cancer patients with history and risk of CVD events”.
New formats
One pillar of ESU Online is the UROwebinars series. The UROwebinars are an online-only effort that predates the pandemic conditions, but has certainly taken flight since public events have become impossible.
The UROwebinars are regularly-occurring online seminars that have already covered a wide variety of topics, presented by experts on the respective topics. These webinars are designed to last around an hour, take place in the early evening and can be joined by registering in advance. Upon completion of a questionnaire, 1 CME is awarded to the participant. UROwebinars are recorded and also made available on the EAU’s YouTube channel, where they reach another audience of thousands.
In 2016-2019, six or seven UROwebinars took place annually, attracting on average 300-500 registrations. In 2020, the number of webinars increased to 29, averaging over 1,000 registrations per webinar. This is on par with the EAU’s larger events and much larger than regular educational courses or masterclasses. Webinars also supplemented the EAU20 Virtual Congress in the summer, joining a virtual selection of the ESU Masterclasses that are normally held on location, in conjunction with the EAU’s Annual Congress.
"The EAU’s online educational portfolio will be stronger and more comprehensive than it was before 2020."
Particularly popular topics over the past year are related to prostate cancer, urinary stones and other surgical topics. In 2021, UROwebinars are so far scheduled to cover MRI fusion, paediatric urology, incontinence, bladder cancer and much more.
New formats developed under ESU Online include the UROmotion video series. This marks an emphasis on surgical education, when traditional “hands-on” has become more difficult. UROmotion consists of step-by-step surgical videos, and live moderation of surgical videos to show the entire procedure in real time.
Another new development under the ESU Online banner is the Tech Forum. The latest technical developments in surgical instruments, robotics, imaging and more will be discussed and critically reviewed by a panel of leading experts for an unbiased analysis.
Accreditation and future
As an online alternative to the more conventional on-site training options, the ESU Online courses, webinars and other parts of the curriculum are accredited. In order to claim CME points, participants will need to register in advance and take part live. (In some cases, a webinar is turned into an on-demand, accredited E-course.) ESU Online uses the MyEAU account to track progress and manage accreditation for attendance.
Please note that a MyEAU account is not exclusively for EAU members, non-members can easily create an account and take part in the ESU Online programme. Be sure to update your MyEAU profile with your field(s) of interest. This will help us reach you with relevant ESU Online and other (online) events.
While online education is at the moment driven by necessity, the introduction of online education predates the global pandemic and will continue even once in-person events become feasible again. We feel the online events are popular and well-received, and we will continue to offer opportunities for convenient additional learning in the coming years. The EAU’s online educational portfolio will be stronger and more comprehensive than it was before 2020.
Check uroweb.org/education/online-education/ for updates.
ESU Online Events are free to attend, also for non-members! Create and/or Update your MyEAU Profile so we can let you know when another event is coming up!
