Expanding How We Learn and Teach

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

We’d like to build on the momentum from the recent INSPiRED Congress in Barcelona and bring our community together once more before the summer break. It’s a good time to reconnect, share ideas, and prepare for the next steps in advancing our field.

In this issue, we’re introducing two developments aimed at supporting clinical learning and collaboration:

1. The Pediatric Interventional Lung Case Academy (PILCA): a formal structure for the international case discussions many of us have participated in over the past few years.

2. Two new article formats in PIPJ - Video Articles and How I Do It: designed to that meet the visual, procedural, and practical needs of pediatric interventional pulmonology.

Both are practical tools to support shared learning, whether through real-time discussion, networking or published experience.

Over the past several years, Dr. Dirk Schramm has led a recurring virtual case discussion series that brings together pediatric interventional pulmonologists from around the world. These sessions have provided a platform to present challenging cases, review rare findings, and discuss technical nuances in a collaborative setting - now with a new identity: PILCA – the Pediatric Interventional Lung Case Academy.

Next PILCA Session

• Date: Friday, July 18, 2025

• Time: 13:00 (Germany) / 7:00 (New York) / 15:00 (Kuwait) / 10:00 PM (Brisbane)

• Access: Join via Microsoft Teams

🌍 The session will feature informal, case-based discussion with participation from across the globe. No elaborate slides are needed—just real-world experience and open clinical exchange.

📩 Call for Cases

• Case presentations should be ~10 minutes long

• No formal manuscript or extended prep required

• If you’d like to present, simply email Dr. Dirk Schramm in advance at:
  [email protected]

Please note: PILCA is an independent, community-led initiative. We are pleased to share it through this newsletter as a valuable opportunity for shared learning in our specialty.

New in PIPJ: Formats That Fit Our Field

Interventional pulmonology is inherently visual and procedural. Yet most traditional publishing formats miss this dimension. That’s why PIPJ is proud to introduce two new submission types designed to match the way we teach, learn, and innovate.

🎥 Video Articles

Peer-reviewed procedures, captured in motion.

These are high-definition, narrated videos that document real-time procedures and unique case reports step by step. Each submission is accompanied by a brief manuscript outlining the clinical context, tools used, outcomes, and references.

Ideal for:

• Complete procedural workflows

• Novel techniques

• Unusual pathology or intraoperative findings

• Teaching common techniques with high clarity

For detailed guidelines on how to prepare a Video Article, visit here.

🛠️ How I Do It

A practical guide from operator to operator.

These focused articles describe how you perform one specific technique or workflow - from patient selection to post-procedure care. They're not about “what should be done” in theory - but what you actually do, and how others can replicate it.

Detailed guidelines can be found here.

Stay Connected

Thank you for being part of this growing community. Stay tuned for upcoming publications, new webinars and much more!

Sincerely,

Assist. Prof. Matej Šapina, MD, PhD
Editor-in-Chief
Pediatric Interventional Pulmonology

For inquiries or to submit your manuscript, please visit www.pipj.org or contact our editorial office at [email protected].