Clinical practice guidelines are a bridge between scientific evidence and real-world practice. This is the main reason why I decided to advance my background experience (in epidemiology, systematic reviews and meta-analyses), by working on guidelines. Because Neurology is my main field of interest in medicine (I am a Neurology resident), the EAN Guideline Production Group Fellowship (lasting 12 months) was a perfect occasion for this.
During the last year, under the supervision of Prof. Maurizio Leone, I had the opportunity to be actively involved in reviewing the EAN guidelines’ protocols, as well as the final guidelines, in order to assure their high methodological quality. If necessary, I provided direct help by doing statistical or methodological analyses for the GRADE tables.
Being involved in the guideline production within the European Academy of Neurology is a responsible work with no doubt and requires dedication. However, the members of the Guideline Production Group are always open for collaboration and discussion, creating a very stimulating working atmosphere. Throughout a lot of practical work, accompanied with the attendance to courses of good quality, this experience deepened my knowledge and expertise in guideline production, opening new opportunities for my future career.
Written by Dr Katina Aleksovska, member of the EAN Guideline Production Group.
