NOPHO COURSES

1. The official language is English. 
2. Participants: all Nordic participants must be members of NOPHO. Maximum number of participants: 30. Three of these are reserved for Baltic participants and up to three will be reserved for participants from other specialties (surgeons, pathologists etc.). Selection of participants will be based on previous participation in one or more of the other courses, educational background, and a first come principle. In addition, applicants not in permanent positions will generally have first priority. 
3. Four weeks prior to the course educational material will be sent out. The participants are expected to have read and be well acquainted with this material. Prints of overheads and slides will in a standard format be handed out during the course sections. Prior to the course the participants will be divided into groups of 5, and each group will receive a set of patient cases (typical as well as complicated). These must have been read and considered prior to the course. For each case one of the participants will be asked to prepare a short presentation of the issue to be discussed. During the course and after discussions in the group sessions the cases are to be presented and discussed in plenum. Alternatively, a trainee may be asked to prepare a case from his/her own clinic to be discussed in plenum. 
4. Test: there will be no formal exams. In order to evaluate the level and quality of knowledge acquired prior to and during the course, a multiple choice test will be held at the end of the course. 
5. Faculty: the faculty will include lecturers from most of the Nordic countries and with a maximum of 2 lecturers from non-Nordic countries. A core faculty consisting of senior pediatric hematologist/oncologist from different Nordic countries will be staying throughout the course to offer supervision of the group sessions and to participate in the plenum discussions. 
6. Fee: no course fee. Meals are covered. The participants will cover their own travel expenses and accommodation. Participants from the Baltic countries can apply for NOPHO funding for all their expenses (coverage cannot be guaranteed). 
7. Accommodation: the participants and the faculty will be accommodated at the site of the course. 

The NOPHO courses are in general very well evaluated and of very high quality.

The ECC has a few new recommendations based on a general wish from the YOUNG NOPHO members:

1. All educational material should be available on the NOPHO web minimum 4 weeks in advance of the course
2. We recommend that the educational material is put on the Young NOPHO website 4 weeks prior to the courses and can be edited every time the course is repeated (every 3 year).
3. It is strongly recommended that a significant proportion of the course sessions are based on clinical cases.
4. The cases and specific questions (learning points) should be created by the teachers and send out to the course participants together with the rest of the educational material (on the NOPHO website) prior to the course minimum of 2 weeks in advance.
5. One case should be appointed to each participant to prepare in advance of the course (more course participants can be appointed to the same case pending on the number of participants participating).
6. The ECC recommends that the course participants prepare/look through all cases send forward, but they are as a minimum responsible for presenting the case they are assigned. This presentation can be done in groups.
7. It is recommended that the cases are discussed both in smaller working groups and elected cases are presented in plenum throughout the courses.
8. It is of great importance that every teacher facilitating each case discussion is aware of the key learning points and take home messages, which this specific case represents even if they didn’t prepare their case themselves.
9. We strongly recommend that only doctors with a minimum 12 months of pediatric hematology and oncology training participate in the courses

ImplementationSYLLABUS FOR THE EUROPEAN TRAINING IN PAEDIATRIC
HAEMATOLOGY/ONCOLOGY
(implementation in NOPHO educational program)
Items underlined are covered locally/nationally. Items in italics are covered partly locally and partly Nordic. The remainder is covered by the NOPHO educational program.

Module 1 – Scientific Basis of Paediatric Haematology and
Oncology
(suitable to be delivered by didactic course-based teaching on national/international basis)
Epidemiology of cancer and leukaemia
Biology of cancer and leukaemia (covered in part by the NOPHO program)
Genetics of cancer (cyto- and molecular) and gene therapy (covered in part by the NOPHO program)
Immunology of cancer, where relevant
Imaging
Principles of surgery
Principles of chemotherapy, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, new drug evaluation Principles of radiotherapy, radiobiology (CNS-tumour course)
Emergencies
Supportive care: use of blood products, antibiotics, nutritional support, growth factors etc.
Psycho-social aspects
Epidemiology of non-malignant haematological diseases
Haemopoiesis
Coagulation, thrombosis, anticoagulation
Blood transfusion, tissue typing, transplantation immunology
Organisation of care
Statistics, incidence, survival
Clinical trial methodology
Research methodology and audit
Ethical Issues, consent, litigation, data protection

Module 2 – Generic Training in Practical Skills Required in Paediatric Haematology and Oncology
Optimal use of diagnostic services
Ensuring good clinical practice
Supportive care, including central lines
Care of adolescents
Long-term follow-up
Late effects
Palliative care, pain evaluation and treatment
Academic skills: research, audit, teaching, data reporting, trial
documentation
Communication/counselling parents and patients
Psycho-social aspects
Organisation and managerial skills
Leadership of multidisciplinary team
Attendance at appropriate national and international meetings.

Module 3 – Laboratory Haematology
Blood transfusion
Bone marrow, blood, CSF cytology and morphology (including tobe able to report the results – training throughout the program plus evaluation of skills required)
Flow cytometry
Cytogenetics
Immunophenotyping
Histo/cytochemistry
Coagulation
Thrombophilia and anticoagulation
Haemoglobin electrophoresis

Module 4 – Clinical non-malignant Paediatric Haematology
Anaemias including nutritional
Haemoglobin disorders (haemoglobinopathies, thalassaemia etc)
Haemolytic anaemias
Haemostatic disorders, platelet defects, thrombocytopenia,
thrombophilia
Neutropenia (treatment induced neutropenia)
Bone marrow failure (aplastic anaemia)
Blood transfusion practice and safety
Neonatal haematology and immunology
Immunodeficiency disorders (congenital and acquired)
Haematological manifestations of systemic diseases including
infections, e.g. malaria
Molecular diagnosis
Antenatal diagnosis and genetic counselling
Participation in clinico-pathological meetings

Module 5 – Clinical Malignant Haematology, (Leukaemia, Lymphoma Myelodysplasia, MDS)
Diagnosis, including cytology, morphology, cytogenetics and immunophenotyping (including being able to report the results)
In- and out-patient care
Emergencies
Risk stratification and choice of treatment
Ensuring appropriate samples and data are collected
Delivering treatment following clinical protocols
Response evaluation
Diagnosis and treatment of relapse
Late effects
Participation in clinico-pathological meetings

Module 6 – Bone Marrow Transplant/Stem Cell Transfusion (Clinical)
Autologous SCT will be covered by the leukaemia/lymphomas
course. Allogenic SCT will be covered by the solid tumour course.
Indications for transplant/stem cell transfusion
Tissue typing
Donor selection
Donor counselling
Stem cell manipulation
Supportive care
Conditioning/immune suppression/transplant immunology
Graft versus host disease
Acute complications and late effects.

Module 7 – CNS Tumours (Clinical)
In conjunction with neuro-surgeon and radiotherapist, diagnosis,
in- and out-patient care
Emergencies
Management of hydrocephalus
Investigation, imaging
Observation of operations for CNS tumours
Risk stratification and choice of treatment
Ensuring appropriate samples and data are collected
Delivering treatment following clinical protocols
Response evaluation
Rehabilitation
Management of neurological handicap, cognitive defects,
endocrine dysfunction and other late effects
Diagnosis and treatment of relapse
Participation in Tumour Board Meetings including histopathology

Module 8 – Solid Tumours Outside the CNS (Clinical)
Including neuroblastoma, nephroblastoma, soft tissue and bone sarcomas, germ cell tumours, retinoblastoma, liver tumours, endocrine and epithelial tumours
In conjunction with paediatric surgical oncologists and paediatric radiotherapists, diagnosis, in- and out-patient care
Emergencies
Observations of operations for tumours
Staging, risk stratification and choice of treatment
Ensuring appropriate samples and data are collected
Delivering treatment following clinical protocols
Response evaluation
Rehabilitation
Management of handicaps, endocrine dysfunction, prostheses
and other late effects
Diagnosis and treatment of relapse
Participation in Tumour Board Meetings including histopathology

Module 9 – Flexible
This may include further experience in aspects of any of the other 8 modules (for example, in laboratory haematology, tumour molecular biology or the care of children with coagulation
disorders, haemoglobinopathies, leukaemia, CNS or other solid tumours) or time in research. This experience may be gained in the trainee’s country or abroad. A three month period in
immunology might be chosen by some trainees, to include neonatal immunology, immunodeficiency disorders, trans-plantantation immunology and immunomodulation. Research must be undertaken under expert supervision in which the trainee learns to plan, conduct, evaluate, publish and present research projects but not more than 6 months may be spent in full time research. Experience abroad will only be acceptable when undertaken in an institution considered suitable by the national body responsible for overseeing training.

2024 March 6-8, Copenhagen
NOPHO course – Leukemia Lymphoma Langerhans Histiocytosis Course
Registration link closed 22 January 2024

Preliminary program

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2024 March 13-15, Digital (Malmö-Lund)
NOPHO course – Pediatric Hematology
Registration link closed 2024-01-18

Final Program