The European Young Family Doctor Movement (EYFDM), previously known as the Vasco da Gama Movement (VdGM), is an organisation dedicated to supporting young family doctors (YFDs) in Europe.
A young doctor is a doctor in training for Family Medicine/General Practice and in the first 5 years after qualification as a family physician/general practitioner.
The seed of the movement was sown at the 2004 WONCA Europe conference in Amsterdam.
In January 2005, a meeting in Lisbon solidified the vision, goals, and objectives of the movement. The ideals for the Movement were set down in this meeting in the home port of Vasco da Gama, from where he set out on a similar voyage of discovery, naming the movement after him.
Later that year, at the Kos WONCA Europe Conference, the Vasco da Gama Movement was officially launched.
- Growth and Milestones (2012-2015):
- The VdGM Fund was established in 2012 to support its initiatives.
- The 10th anniversary was celebrated in Lisbon in 2014, marked by a commemorative book.
- In 2015, the VdGM “Being Young Staying Young Award” was inaugurated, recognising outstanding young FDs.
- In October 2015 EYFDM was granted full recognition as a Network of WONCA Europe.
Today, the EYFDM continues to empower young FDs, facilitating networking, knowledge sharing and professional development through exchanges and events (including forum and pre-conference), projects (like the Bridge Project and Special Interest Groups), research and exchange awards.
The name change from VdGM to EYFDM reflects a more inclusive and descriptive identity for the organization.
Successful annual Pre-conferences (in the 2 days prior to WONCA Europe Conference) have been held ever since, including in 2013 – when the EYFDM (then VdGM) Preconference was held prior to the WONCA World Conference in Prague.
VdGM
more info coming soon
EYFDM
more info coming soon