Respiratory training in Greece.

In Greece, respiratory medicine is a stand-alone specialty requiring a 5-year training programme. Acquisition of the general medicine specialty is not a prerequisite for entering the respiratory training programme. As background information, Greece's population is approximately 11 million and there are tertiary hospitals covering specific geographical areas of the country. The majority of the tertiary hospitals include respiratory wards and also train registrars. Although there is heterogeneity between different hospitals, our article highlights the training of respiratory physicians in the majority of respiratory departments in the country.