title: The European Registered Toxicologist (ERT): Current status and prospects for advancement.
abstract: Following its inception in 1994, the certification of European Registered Toxicologists (ERT) by EUROTOX has been recognized as ensuring professional competence as well as scientific integrity and credibility. Criteria and procedures for registration are contained in the ERT "Guidelines for Registration 2012". The register of ERT currently has over 1900 members. In order to continue the harmonisation of requirements and processes between national registering bodies as a prerequisite for official recognition of the ERT title as a standard, and to take account of recent developments in toxicology, an update of the ERT Guidelines has been prepared in a series of workshops by the EUROTOX subcommittees for education and registration, in consultation with representatives of national toxicology societies and registers. The update includes details of topics and learning outcomes for theoretical training, and how these can be assessed. The importance of continuing professional development as the cornerstone of re-registration is emphasised. To help with the process of harmonisation, it is necessary to collate and share best practices of registration conditions and procedures across Europe. Importantly, this information can also be used to audit compliance with the EUROTOX standards. As recognition of professionals in toxicology, including specialist qualifications, is becoming more important than ever, we believe that this can best be achieved based on the steps for harmonisation outlined here together with the proposed new Guidelines.
authors.affiliation: Chair, EUROTOX Education Sub-committee, Swiss Centre for Applied Human Toxicology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland. Electronic address: martin.wilks@unibas.ch.
authors.forename: Martin F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Wilks
authors.affiliation: Chair, EUROTOX Registration Sub-Committee, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Division of Toxicology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Bas J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Blaauboer
authors.affiliation: Unit Chemical Safety and Cancer Prevention, Institute of Cancer Research, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Rolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schulte-Hermann
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK.
authors.forename: Heather M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Wallace
authors.affiliation: UNISAFE, Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences (DiSFeB), University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Corrado L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Galli
authors.affiliation: Independent Toxicology Professional, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haag-Grönlund
authors.affiliation: Department of Toxicology "Akademik Danilo Soldatovic", Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Vesna
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Matović
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Department, National Institute of Health, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Joao Paulo
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Teixeira
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Johanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zilliacus
authors.affiliation: Department of Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Nursen
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Basaran
authors.affiliation: Centre for Arctic Health & Molecular Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: Eva Cecilie
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Bonefeld-Jørgensen
authors.affiliation: Guerbet, Roissy CDG, France.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bourrinet
authors.affiliation: Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, AGES DSR Risk Assessment, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Werner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Brueller
authors.affiliation: Servier Group, Suresnes, France.
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Claude
authors.affiliation: Research Institute for Medicines, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: Joana P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Miranda
authors.affiliation: Institute for Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Charité, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Ursula
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Gundert-Remy
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Håkansson
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Leda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kovatsi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Drug Development and Therapeutics, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Jyrki
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liesivuori
authors.affiliation: Department of Toxicology and Risk, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lindeman
authors.affiliation: Louvain Centre for Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lison
authors.affiliation: Bayer S.A.S., Valbonne, Sophia Antipolis, France.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Leconte
authors.affiliation: Area of Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Martínez-López
authors.affiliation: Department of Toxicology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Murias
authors.affiliation: Unité d'évaluation des substances chimiques, Agence nationale de la sécurité sanitaire, Maisons-Alfort, France.
authors.forename: Cécile
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Michel
authors.affiliation: Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Paul T J
authors.initials: PTJ
authors.lastname: Scheepers
authors.affiliation: Consultant in Investigative Toxicology, Linlithgow, UK.
authors.forename: Lesley
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Stanley
authors.affiliation: EUROTOX President 2014-2016, Toxicology & Forensic Sciences Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece.
authors.forename: Aristidis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tsatsakis
mesh_terms: D002568:Certification; D004496:Education, Continuing; D004500:Education, Graduate; D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D011361:Professional Competence; D014116:Toxicology / Q000193:education* / Q000592:standards*
keywords: ERT; EUROTOX; European Registered Toxicologist