Perfusion education and training in Europe anno 2023

Background: In the absence of uniform European regulations, there have been many differences in the training of perfusionists across Europe. Furthermore, there has been no uniform or single European accreditation of the profession. One of the objectives of The European Board of Cardiovascular Perfusion (EBCP) is to standardise and monitor training of perfusionists across Europe whilst offering support in accordance with national regulations. This goal is particularly imminent as there have been numerous newly founded National perfusion societies, particularly from Eastern European countries, which are now established members of EBCP. Purpose: In this article, we provide an updated overview or ‘snapshot’ of current European perfusion training programs that were accessible in 2022. Nationally acquired data refers to 2022 unless stated otherwise. The last overview of Perfusion education in Europe was reported over 15 years ago including 20 countries. Research Design: For this report thirty-two national EBCP delegates plus representatives from Austria were contacted at the beginning of 2023 to complete a pro forma questionnaire about their national perfusion training programmes. The data has been summarized in this article and five additional derived parameters were calculated. Results: We received responses from 31 countries, providing specific national training characteristics which are summarized, listed and benchmarked by country in this article. Conclusion: There have been several national and supranational initiatives towards the recognition of perfusion as a profession in Europe, however so far without success for the majority of countries. For this reason, it remains essential for EBCP, as the only European professional perfusionist body, to define education standards and competencies for perfusionists and to monitor training by accreditation of dedicated perfusion schools across Europe.