Staré Splavy, Czech Republic
May 10 – 13, 2012
Like in the previous years the interest for attendance in our course was overwhelming. With sad heart we were forced to refuse applications of 90 colleagues. Out of those 136 accepted the majority have overcome various administrative obstacles (visas, permissions, insurance etc.) and after some cancellations 123 participants have come from 36 countries. African Mediterranean countries (associate members of the EFNS) were represented by 2 colleagues from Egypt and by 3 neurologists from Tunisia.
Faculty members from 7 countries (Slovenia, Germany, Italy, France, Hungary, The Netherlands and Czech Republic) presented as usually every day three 50 minutes plenary lectures in the morning and three workshops for smaller groups in the afternoon.
We were pleased to welcome our vice-president Professor Marianne de Visser, who also lectured in the third topic.
In general the audience expressed their satisfaction with topics on Movement disorders (provided by the MDS, who nominated Susanne Schneider, Angelo Antonini and Zvezdan Pirtosek), Multiple Sclerosis (Michel Clanet, Jana Lízrová, Klemens Ruprecht) and Disturbance of consciousness (by Marianne de Visser, Lászlo Csiba and Pavel Kalvach). In their questionnaires most participants designated the level of presentations as „about right“, only a minority perceived them „too basic“ or „too advanced“. Mainly the interactive character of the afternoon workshops has been praised by many respondents.
Dr Alena Šteflová, chair of the national subsidiary of World Health Organisation, gave a lecture on general and neuroscience directions in the activities of WHO. A survay of opportunities for young neurologists in Europe by Krisztina Róna-Vörös, secretary of EAYNT, was welcome as a practical incentive for personal ambitions.
Besides of the EFNS sponsorship we were also grateful to the Lundbeck International Neuroscience Foundation for their support.
As organizers we were happy to have a company of listeners intensively dedicated to knowledge, colleagues of high cultivation in mutual exchange of opinions and eager to compare their own neurological practice with so many other countries. So were they appreciated also by the whole faculty. The cultural and social programme was evaluated as excellent, likewise also the administrative service in all stages of preparation provided by Magda Dohnalová and her husband. All letters after the course were endearing texts which the EFNS can be proud of.
Pavel Kalvach is Professor of Neurology at the Department of Neurology at the 3rd Medical Faculty of the Charles University in Prague, and is organizing the EFNS Spring School (former EFNS Academy) since the beginning.
6 comments
Congratulations once more on the excellent organisation of the EFNS spring school and many thanks for helping me with the travel arrangements.
It has been a pleasure to contribute!
I am impressed by your concept and your enthusiasm with which you organised the 13th spring school! This is really superb and I could see how the young neurologists from all over Europe and further benefitted from it. In addition to the educational session, the cultural events were very enjoyable – the walk up the hill, the concert and the castle.
All together, perfect!
Thank you!
Thank to you for your hospitality and the perfect organization. I think if this course continues we need to promote it even more actively at national level……
Best regards
I arrived home and already started working after this wonderfull experience called “spring school”. Thank you a lot for this oportunity to learn and see your beautiful country, congratulation for the excelent organization and dedication of your team. I wish you many many years to teach young neurologist.
I just wanted to thank you for everything. God bless you and your family..
Thnaks agian and again…
Dear Professor Kalvach,
I want to take this chance to thank you, and Ms. Dohnalova, for the pleasure of being a part of the wonderful manifestation you organized at Stare Splavy.
I am sure that it was overwhelming work to create such an event, and i just wanted you both to know how much i appreciate your efforts in trying to make everybody welcome, and every single thing to go perfectly.
Not only you have achieved this goal, but you actually realized something much more important : you made us all feel like we are part of one big family! A family with 120 members gathered from 36 countries.And this feeling can only be replicated by people with kind, big hearts.
The scientific component of the congress was highly professional, the lectures were about the most interesting and most useful i have witnessed in my entire life, and the workshops were very educational, and, most importantly, very entertaining.
I can truly say that this was, in the real meaning of the expression, a spring SCHOOL for me.
The cultural program was perfectly chosen, the concerto at St. Bartholomew`s church was absolutely outstanding, and i just never would have wanted it to finish, and what better way to end the congress than with a dinner at one of the most beautiful splendors the Czech Republic has to offer, the Melnik Castle..
And what can i say about the place where everything happened? Stare Splavy is a piece of heaven, a symbol of harmony and peace, and, from now on, Stare Splavy is, for me, a way of life. Stare Splavy changed my life in more than one way, and i feel i have you both to thank for it.
I would have liked to tell you these things in person, but the agitation of the departure would have made impossible for the words to come out right.
I thank you again for your remarkable efforts and for your hard work and thank you for the honor and privilege of allowing me to be a part of this truly spiritual experience. Nothing is more important in life then making other people happy.
I wish you both all the best in the world,
Dear Ms. Magda Dohnalova and Prof. Pavel Kalvach,
I would like to thank you for a great program in Stare Splave, which were organized perfectly starting from the level of lectures and usefulness for our everyday practice as young neurologists and also amazing Social program.
I really enjoyed my time in Stare Splavy and felt very good and friendly atmosphere among the participants and tutors. Especially the spiritual atmosphere during all the time in Stare Splavy. It is a very special place; I have got a lot of things and also felt very comfortable and relaxing with all my soul. I would highly recommend this program for all my colleagues to have an opportunity of visit this special place with a special people and unusual things which are happened in this place with people.
I came back happy to my work, with feeling of harmony between my mind and soul and full of energy to continue my work and education and sharing my experience among the colleagues.
Thank you for your work and spiritual light which you sharing with other people,
Wish you all the best,
Sincerely,