We are a leading healthcare campus encompassing all fields of health: from healthcare and research to teaching and management.
Professionalism, commitment and research by professionals on the Campus are the key elements in offering patients excellent care.
We are committed to research as a tool to provide solutions to the daily challenges we face in the field of medical healthcare.
We generate, transform and transmit knowledge in all areas of the health sciences, helping to train the professionals of the future.
We are defined by our vocation for communication. We invite you to share everything that happens at Vall d'Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus, and our doors are always open.
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The Neurology Teaching Unit at Vall d’Hebron University Hospital is provided by the Neurology Department with participation from Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Psychiatry, Neurosurgery, Neurophysiology, Neuroradiology, Paediatrics, and A&E.
Neurology training itinerary
Healthcare activity in neurology combines writing medical histories, diagnostic data collection, correct use of complementary exploratory procedures, and accurate clinical and aetiologic diagnosis, as well as choosing appropriate palliative treatments. We also emphasise the role of the relationship between resident doctors and patients in the basic areas of Neurology.
A large number of medical conditions and neurological illnesses can result in critical emergency situations, such as strokes and lupus. With this in mind, from the second year the duty shifts in neurological emergencies become a key aspect of residents’ work, and are always carried out under supervision. Neurologists are also required to carry out a rotation in neurological outpatient care.
Research studies are part of the practical work that neurologists must deepen and develop, with particular emphasis on ethical competence when carrying out research.
Neuroscience research should be done under supervision of a tutor , and requires solid training in scientific methodology as well as in bioethics and scientific communication.
Intensive care medicine is the speciality that cares for critically-ill patients, those who are in a life-threatening condition and who are susceptible to recovery. This provides us with a wide-ranging perspective of all kinds of patients and pathologies and makes us one of the most cross-cutting specialities in our current health system. In addition to the General Hospital's Intensive Care Unit, the Intensive Care Medicine Teaching Unit includes the Traumatology ICU, the Cardiac Surgery Post-operative Unit and the General and Traumatology Semi-critical areas.
Our Intensive Care Medicine is a leading service for pathologies such as lung transplants, ECMO, neurocritical care, spinal cord injuries, oncohematology patients, burns and pregnancies, among others. This differentiates us from other centres, as we have access to nearly all critical pathologies, and are consequently able to provide excellent training.
Intensive Care Training Itinerary
The intensive care medicine resident doctors undertake training in various areas: emergencies, medical specialities, surgery and, mainly, high-acuity areas, such as the General Intensive Care Unit and the Traumatology and Burns.
Its caring activities are characterised by a constant presence in high-acuity areas, as well as hospital duty shifts throughout the residency. Residents are therefore familiarised with intensive care medicine and acquire the ability to address the problems of critical patients and carry out necessary therapies from the first day of their residencies. They learn the basics of haemodynamics, mechanical ventilation, extracorporeal treatment, the pharmacological management of vasoactive drugs and antibiotics, among other things. Furthermore, they are an essential part of the cardiorespiratory arrest emergency and care team.
The acquisition of the speciality's specific skills is complemented by training in cross-cutting abilities, such as communication, teamwork and leadership, which allows residents to progressively acquire autonomy, always under the supervision of the appropriate specialists.
We are a teaching unit with various research groups, including the Respiratory Pathology, Sepsis, Haemodynamics, Infections, Neurocritical Patients, Renal Medicine, Polytrauma and Burns Group. In the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), we are represented by the SODIR (Shock, Organic Dysfunction and Resuscitation) Group, which is very active in a wide range of projects and clinical trials. Furthermore, we are part of the UNINN (Neurotraumatology and Neurosurgery Research Unit) and with the Plastic Surgery and Burns group, which are worldwide pioneers in achieving the first full-face transplant and the treatment of burns with enzymatic debridement.
The Department promotes and facilitates the presentation of communications in congresses concerning the speciality and the drafting of articles for the sector's most influential journals, activities which lay the foundations for developing the doctoral theses of their members.
Geriatrics is a speciality that consists of the comprehensive management of elderly people, requiring multidisciplinary participation in order to properly care for the patient. The Vall d'Hebron University Hospital Geriatrics Teaching Unit forms part of the Internal Medicine Department, and works in collaboration with the Faculty of Medicine at the UAB. It involves the participation of other hospital departments, including the Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Neurology and A&E departments.
Geriatrics training itinerary
Geriatrics residents must:
Residents are thus trained to offer a high quality service whereby a strong focus on the patient, with the help of the interdisciplinary team (medicine, nursing, social work, physiotherapy, psychology, etc.) and coordination with other primary care specialists, the intermediate care hospital and acute care hospital are vital.
This 4-year specialisation programme is split into two training periods:
Both the basic and specialised formative periods offer ample opportunities for elective rotations, including an external rotation during the final year.
The Geriatrics Teaching Unit encourages research, and offers the opportunity to do a doctoral thesis at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). Attendance at national and international geriatrics congresses, as well as that of the Catalan Geriatrics and Gerontology Society (SCGiG), is always encouraged.
Residents’ activities at the Cardiac Surgery Teaching Unit encompass paediatric and adult cardiac surgery. Our aim is to train cardiac surgeons to ensure they are equipped with all the specialised knowledge and experience necessary to treat the most complex cases.
Cardiovascular Surgery Training Itinerary
The Cardiac Surgery Teaching Unit works with teams from General Surgery, Thoracic Surgery, Vascular Surgery and Anaesthesia and Resuscitation. There are three accredited places available. Residents in this specialisation assist in the operating room and with preoperative assessments, where they provide surgical indications according to their level of training. In addition, they work in intensive care, postoperative care, and carry out patient monitoring on the hospital wards.
Cardiac surgery residents are incorporated into the team gradually according to the relevant stage of their training. Their work is based in state-of-the-art operating theatres, Intensive Care, hospital wards and rooms, and outpatient appointments. During this time, they become familiar with the different surgical and preparatory techniques for cardiac surgery, as well as preoperative and postoperative monitoring.
Rotations through different Departments is essential. Residents therefore spend time in Cardiology and Pacemakers, giving them the chance to learn about cardiac disorders and surgical indications. The rotation in Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, and active participation in lung transplants, enables them to broaden their knowledge of the most advanced surgical techniques in the specialisations.
The final year is spent on duty shifts and in Adult Cardiac Surgery, with three months in Paediatric Cardiology.
We are an active research group applying scientific methodology that allows residents to get closer to basic research or experimental surgery projects in the unit. We also offer the chance to obtain grants.
In terms of research, we undertake to help residents present a research project and to write their doctoral thesis.
Why specialise at Vall d’Hebron?
Resident doctors in Cardiology are offered the chance to work in a centre with highly specialised care activities thanks to the operational structure and cross-cutting programmes that include cardiac surgery and paediatric surgery. Specialists working here deal with a diverse range of disorders such as arrhythmia, congenital heart disease, heart failure, acute coronary syndrome and valvulopathy, among others.
Cardiology training itinerary
The Cardiology Department Teaching Unit at Vall d’Hebron Hospital is divided into nine operational units. These include Outpatients, conventional wards, the Day Hospital, the Coronary Care Unit, Intensive Coronary Care, Semi-critical Care, Echocardiography and Cardiac Imaging, Haemodynamics and Angiocardiography, Arrhythmia, Nuclear Cardiology and the Experimental Laboratory. It should be said that the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, part of the Cardiology Department, is unique within Spain.
We work in multidiscipline areas to treat specific medical problems such as Marfan syndrome and Congenital Heart Disease, and are national leaders in both fields. Our activity is always patient-centred and aims to maximise outpatient care and general cardiology. To this end we regularly run clinical care and scientific sessions that involve all professionals in the Department.
During training, residents progressively increase their level of skill, from taking medical histories at the start of their training, for example, to the use of automatic defibrillators in the final phase of their residency.
During the first year residents undertake shifts in Internal Medicine, with one shift a month in Cardiology. In the second and third year they do shifts in clinical cardiology within the Accident and Emergency Department. The fourth and fifth year include shifts in the Coronary Care Unit and Haemodynamics.
In terms of training, there are sessions, seminars and courses, and residents’ participation in national and international congresses, conferences, seminars and courses is encouraged.
At the end of the cardiology residency, it is possible to continue training in research as part of the Riu Ortega programme for the Carlos III Health Institute. We also take part in undergraduate and postgraduate research staff training programmes run by the Generalitat of Catalonia’s Department for Education and Universities and the Ministry of Education.
Research activities of note include collaboration with the International Doctorate School on myocardial consequences, in cooperation with the University of Giessen (PROMISE), funded by the German organisation DFG and BIOCAT.
Why should you specialise at Vall d’Hebron?
The Digestive System Department is a national and international academic centre of reference looking after highly complex digestive disorders in a public, university, community hospital.
Digestive system training itinerary
The teaching unit comes under the Digestive System and Liver Department which combines Digestive System, Endoscopy and Hepatology departments, although we also work in collaboration with Internal medicine, Intensive care medicine, Emergencies and Radiodiagnosis, Nutritional support and Digestive Surgery Departments.
In daily practice, resident doctors visit the patients along with their staff doctors, preparing the clinical record and making the physical examination under their supervision. They also make an assessment of the supplementary tests such as endoscopic, radiology, manometric, and anatomy and pathology examinations needed for proper decision making and to diagnose disorders of the oesophagus, stomach, intestine, colon, pancreas, liver and bile ducts. During residency, doctors get to know about the most frequent conditions in the speciality, and often have the opportunity to come across more complex cases, which are a model for interaction with other units at the hospital. In Hepatology they have the opportunity to learn about the features of severe or chronic hepatitis, or hepatic cirrhosis, as well as carrying out the diagnosis, serological tests, treatment and the possible complications, if there are any, and prevention. During their turn in Endoscopy they have gradual, supervised training that covers all from diagnostic examinations to basic therapeutic endoscopy, as well as assisting those responsible for advanced endoscopy techniques, such as endoscopic ultrasound and endoscopic retrograde colangiopancreatography.
Residents in the Digestive Department are on call for internal medicine during the first year and, subsequently, from the second year of residency onwards, are specialist on-call doctors (approximately 4 shifts per month), alongside a physically present department member.
The Digestive System Programme also carries out significant scientific work at the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute and CIBERehd, with five lines of research:
We offer you a teaching programme designed following the National Council for Digestive System Speciality’s programme. Internationally the department is recognised as a European Training Centre by the European Community's European Gastroenterology Board and as a receiving centre for the UEG Clinical and Research Visiting Fellowship programme and as a collaborator in the Rome Foundation Research Institute’s Investigator Network. Treatment-wise we have membership in national units of reference, such as the Neuroendocrine Tumours Committee and the Adult Primary Immunodeficiency Committee. Furthermore, from the research point of view, our unit has been recognised as a group of excellence by AGAUR (University and Research Grant Management Agency) since 2009 and as a CIBERehd (Centre for Network Biomedical Research on Hepatic and Digestive Disorders) group since 2008.
Why practise this speciality at Vall d'Hebron?
Angiology and vascular surgery deal with prevention, diagnosis, treatment and research of vascular diseases. In this field, resident doctors administer non-invasive medical and diagnostic therapies through imaging techniques, direct surgical treatments, endoscopies and endovascular procedures in adults and children. In the Angiology and Vascular Surgery Teaching Unit you will acquire the knowledge and experience necessary to carry out the specialisation in hospitals at any level, and where specialists have to treat the most straightforward to the most complex of issues.
Angiology training itinerary
The Angiology and Vascular Surgery Teaching Unit has one accredited position. It is part of the Angiology and Vascular Surgery Department, but General, Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery are also involved. This ensures there is an opportunity to work in multidisciplinary teams.
The specialisation is carried out in the Outpatient Clinic, in Haemodynamics, on the wards, in surgery, and in the Accident and Emergency Department. It works both in Internal Medicine and Paediatrics.
During the training period, tutors supervise residents in a progressive way. Depending on which part of the training they are in, residents may carry out preoperative diagnostics and give surgical indications during operations and for immediate postoperative care. In addition, they carry out postoperative care on the hospital wards.
Other skills you will acquire include diagnostic imaging using all available methods: ultrasound, computed tomography (CT) scans, and magnetic resonance angiography among others, in addition to using the most advanced angiography techniques and therapeutic endovascular procedures.
If you do your residency with us, you will also have the opportunity to actively participate in organizing and developing courses, to analyse the Department’s surgical outcomes, to conduct literature reviews and be up to date with the latest innovations and aspects specific to the specialisation.
Angiology residents work with scientific research methodology and are equipped to write different kinds of publications in this field. Their objectives include two publications as first author and the presentation of two papers at scientific events. It is also recommended to dedicate time to the doctoral thesis, or least to start it.
For over thirty years, our service has been accredited by the Spanish Ministry of Health, Consumption and Social Welfare for training resident doctors in anaesthesia and resuscitation. All the members of our service are teachers and 12 of them are also tutors. Some members are professors at the Autonomous University’s Faculty of Medicine, for Masters and courses, as well as being part of research projects, authors of publications, etc.
Anesthesiology and resuscitation training itinerary
Our Teaching Unit attracts medical students from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, residents and specialists. Every year, it teaches over 120 resident doctors (45 of whom are the service's own residents) in the cross-cutting, specific skills of Anaesthesia and Resuscitation, and in Entrustable Professional Activities (EPA) for anaesthesia, and complements the training of over 20 specialists in anaesthesia and other specialities. It also offers an advanced international training programme in Paediatric Anaesthesia.
On our Campus, you have the opportunity to attend, learn and reflect on the care performed for all kinds of pathologies. In order to facilitate integration into the service and speciality, during the first month of rotation, the resident is trained in cross-cutting skills, via the Hospital's Teaching Unit, and in the basics of Anaesthesia and Resuscitation, through a personalised training plan. In addition to assisting in various areas, sessions and compulsory courses, the individual training plan for our residents includes participation in the theory-practical modules specifically designed for each training year. These are run by experts in the specific subject skill of the module.
The efforts of our Teaching Unit are directed towards training excellent, thoughtful professionals with a critical spirit, by and for our present-day society.
In 2023 Dr. Marc Mendo, resident of Anesthesiology in Vall d'Hebron, wins the Jo Innovo Award 2023. His innovative project, 'High Level Support for Critical Situations', revolutionizes the response to cardiac arrest with a unique application. The award includes support from Vall d’Hebron to implement the idea, as well as an experience at the Karolinska Institute.
The Allergology Teaching Unit is led by allergy and immunology professionals from the Internal Medicine Department (General Hospital), and from Paediatric Allergies from the Respiratory Medicine, Cystic Fibrosis and Allergy Department (Maternity and Children's Hospital). The Unit’s healthcare activities are divided into outpatient clinics, the day hospital and medical interconsultations. We were the first to use molecular diagnostics for complex allergic conditions in Catalonia and we are the leading centre for rare disorders such as hereditary angioedema and systemic mastocytosis.
Allergology training itinerary
The Allergology Unit has been training residents since 1982, and is where most heads of allergology divisions in Catalonia did their training.
We attend to outpatients regarding allergic respiratory disease, paying special attention to asthma, complex food allergies, hymenoptera allergies, chronic urticaria, atopic dermatitis, and drug allergies.
The Day Hospital carries out controlled drug exposure tests and chemotherapy and other drug desensitization therapies. The paediatric unit carries out food desensitization therapies. We also deal with hospital consultations on a daily basis.
The unit carries out clinical research in the fields of anaphylaxis, hereditary angioedema, food allergies and chronic urticaria. In terms of experimental research , we offer the opportunity to carry out specific immunoglobulin E and G tests by biochip, and basophil activation tests. Five doctoral theses have been supervised by the Unit and all its staff physicians are qualified Doctors of Medicine.
The Urology Teaching Unit is led by the Vall d’Hebron Urology Department, with participation from other specialisations such as General Surgery, Nephrology, Intensive Care Medicine, and Paediatric Urology.
Urology training itinerary
Urology deals with the study, diagnosis and treatment of medical-surgical conditions associated with the urinary and retroperitoneal system of both sexes. It also includes the male reproductive system of any age group, that may have congenital, metabolic, obstructive or oncological disorders, or injuries due to trauma.
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