Dear Psychiatric Trainees,
I have started my journey with EFPT in 2016. Therefore I want to thank the past leaders, Livia de Picker, Ekin Sönmez and Howard Ryland. You helped me to be more and more involved each year.
Out of many things which happen in EFPT, I want to emphasize 3 things I like the most:
1. You never feel alone
2. What trainees want and believe can really happens
3. There is always someone more experienced to learn from.
Howard Ryland, past-president, is a great teacher for me, he organized an unforgettable Forum in Bristol this summer with his local organizing committee and introduced me to main organizations and partners we have to maintain our relationships with. I very much appreciate his relaxed attitude in stressful moments and the level of diplomacy.
George Stercu from Romania was elected as president for period 2019-2020. So far he shows his good skills to analyze different topics in details. He can still focus and work under pressure. I wish him all the best in his upcoming specialist exam, I look forward to knowing him better and hope I would be able to offer him the same support Howard offered me in this period. It will be a historic time for Bucharest to host the forum in 2020.
Be all sure the finances are in the good hands, Anne Nobels from Belgium control everything like the “Hawk-eye” on the tennis court.
What is important about EFPT election is that the trainees always choose the right person to continue, the position of Secretary General was kept without stumbling by Anne Nobels and it really needed someone reliable, on-time, organized and what is very important – a very good English speaker. I am happy to welcome Chantelle Wiseman from the UK on the board.
Asilay Seker, a trainee from Turkey, took over Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP) and if you read her short CV online you can find this sentence: “I truly love my job”, I believe with this approach she has the best assumption to be the right person to represent and support CAP trainees across Europe.
Charles So, new IT secretary from France is a creative, innovative and proactive person. It is just great that people like him or David De Freitas who started a new webpage and new logo last year, exist, a rare combination of humans who can communicate not only with patients but also silent computers.
And this is just a beginning. I want to congratulate all the new elected General Managers, Anna Szczegielniak from Poland, who is going to be unforgettable as the External Relations GM not only because of her surname but her positive energy and communication skills.
Aisté Lengvenyté from Lithuania will continue to develop our well-known exchange program as the Exchange GM, the popularity of it is increasing.
And cheer for three newcomers: Justo Pinzon Espinosa from Spain, our new National Trainee Association GM, who will have a tough task to manage such a big existing group, but he was born with leadership skills.
Bárbara Moura from Portugal will keep us alive on every social media and Nikola Žaja from Croatia who will edit the newsletters with a Balkan style. We need this “new wind” because there is still a big need to promote EFPT more.
This is a moment to thank all the past general managers for the great work done. These positions would
never be that far without you.
Let’s work on our action plan 2018-2019 altogether. 
EFPT has 4 aims this year:
– European leading organization for psychiatric trainees
– Federation that holds together
– Psychiatric Training as an unforgettable time after faculty
– Trainees who feel confident to specialize
It is not going to be easy, but nothing good comes easy.
And last, but not least, the main event will be Prague Forum, 10-14th July 2019. Some of you know the local organizing team, but for those who don’t, I promise you they will make you enjoy Prague every second. You are all warmly welcome. We will balance the professional part with an amazing social program. Don’t miss it, save the date and follow our webpage, facebook, twitter to be updated.
And remember, I am here for you if anything doesn’t work the way you like, constructive criticism is important.
Kind regards from,
Pavel Trančík
EFPT president
