This focused series on “Training in Pulmonary Medicine and Surgery” is edited by Gilbert Massard from Service de Chirurgie Thoracique, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.

Specialist training is a critical issue in Europe and worldwide. The trainee is a future colleague from whom we expect that he will deliver the best ever possible quality of care. Continuous professional development should lead to accreditation and recertification. However, once again, there are considerable variations between European countries concerning reglementations of life-long learning on the one hand, and recertification on the other hand. However, this additional challenge of the future with a marked political flavour is a matter of professional advocacy rather than education! We thank all expert authors for their invaluable contribution to this series. We hope that our common work will be useful to both trainees and trainers!

Disclosure:
The series “Training in pulmonary medicine and surgery” was commissioned by the editorial office, Journal of Thoracic Disease without any funding or sponsorship. Gilbert Massard is serving as the unpaid Guest Editor for series.