COLLABORATION. In the past three years, Sven Ekholm has had the mission of overseeing the academization of the newly inaugurated Image and Intervention Center (BoIC) at Sahlgrenska University Hospital. It has now been decided that Sven will continue his mission next year as well – part time until July 1. Sven has held several seminars arranged by MedTech West and BoIC over the years where he spoke about how his mission has developed over the time.
When the decision was made to build BoIC more than ten years ago, one of the goals was for it be a center for regional medical care under constant development through scientific research and education. Today, some areas of the building have been put into operation and the remaining units will open in the next two years. One of the measures that the university and healthcare services conducted together to identify the weaknesses that could constitute a risk was to establish an external Scientific Advisory Board consisting of four professors from Umeå, Turku, Uppsala and Stockholm with expertise in radiology and PET.
“Their assessment was that the BoIC concept in itself was a strength in a region with a strong academic character and that there was a high level of clinical expertise among the colleagues who would work at BoIC, but that there was unfortunately a shortage of specialists and higher academic positions for certain modalities. In addition to this, it was pointed out that the number of academic positions is relatively low, considering the needs and the level of ambition. This becomes even more tangible considering the high clinical load on radiologists and medical physicists, which provides less time for academic activity – not least to educate new researchers,” says Sven Ekholm, who says that the recruitment of a few higher academic positions has now begun:
“We have announced a professorship in general radiology and one in neuroradiology, but there are further needs both on the short and long term. We also need to invest in dedicated positions for education and this work has gotten under way to some extent, like two adjunct senior lecturers in radiology.”
An issue that has engaged Sven Ekholm is the shortage of radiographers. Radiology is a specialty where there is a major shortage of nurses – a shortage that is expected to grow even larger in the next few years. The healthcare services have worked frenetically with this problem and recently, a proposal was presented on how to try to improve the situation.
“Straight off, a larger number of radiographers than before must be educated, but the examinations have also become increasingly complicated and the basic education must therefore also be expanded, by establishing continuing education positions for specialist expertise for instance.”
Another one of the issues close to Sven Ekholm’s heart is the coffee room – something he says is very little about coffee and a great deal about creating a meeting place where various specialties and competencies can meet in a free and spontaneous format.
“In the coffee room, collaborations can begin and knowledge can be conveyed over the physical boundaries that exist due to different professional backgrounds and working in different parts of the hospital,” says Sven Ekholm, who firmly asserts that such a meeting place is of incredible significance to knowledge distribution, not least in an academic environment where the spontaneous meeting can be the starting shot for the next big intervention, or development of new forms of treatment:
“It’s important to avoid isolation in your own group, and instead promote networking over boundaries. Technicians, clinicians, researchers in different clinical disciplines, people with extensive experience and others who are more junior. These meetings can create collaboration that shows the way forward and a centrally placed coffee room would significantly ease such meetings between colleagues at the Hospital and the Academy.”
He would also like to see special areas dedicated to research linked to BoIC including access to necessary equipment:
“It’s important to be able to gather local research expertise, which is fundamental to achieve a critical mass that provides optimal conditions for research and development. One suggestion I’ve made is that the so-called MR building would be suitable for the purpose. There, research can be conducted on MR and certain new technologies, such as Focal MEG/MCG, but it could also host an analysis lab for the processing of collected imagery known, an Imaging Lab. It’s important that we provide conditions to be able to conduct research of the highest quality, which can secondarily lead to improved possibilities to attract external research funding. Today we have access to competent researchers here at Sahlgrenska University Hospital and Sahlgrenska Academy, which includes both GU and Chalmers with shared support functions in MedTech West, but we also have to give them the right conditions to be able to conduct research. This is why issues concerning staff, equipment and facilities are so incredibly important to continue working on!”
