“I was excited to participate in Maastricht University’s involvement with EDU due to its unique founding principles, combining early exposure of students to real patients in a real hospital with modern educational concepts. With a highly qualified staff, enthusiastic students and support from respected hospitals, developing EDU into a successful medical school is a motivating endeavour that may well suit the needs for education of health professionals anywhere in the world.”
– Prof. Geertjan Wesseling on why he works for EDU
Key Qualifications
Professor of respiratory medicine
Head, department of Respiratory Medicine
Former board member of the Faculty of Medicine and of the staff board of the hospital
Medical director of the MUMC+ Centre for chronic diseases
37 years in clinical respiratory medicine, notably at Maastricht University’s Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences (FHML) and Maastricht University Medical Centre+.
Professional Background
1994 – 2001: Coordinator of clinical teaching
2012 – 2017: Coordinator International Master of Medicine
2013 – 2017: Management team Medicine of the FHML
Tutor and several other educational roles in all years of the medical curriculum
Long-time teacher in the Summer-course and in the PBL courses of the Faculty of Medicine
Member of the blueprint new Curriculum Committee, the Assessment Committee and the current Curriculum Committee and chair of the advisory committee for internationalisation at FHML
Chairman of the Maastricht University Supervisory Board of EDU
Visiting professor for clinical teaching at numerous universities
Coordinator of several healthcare innovation projects (transmurale zorg) in Maastricht/Heuvelland
Employment Record
1986 – present: Maastricht University Hospital, Dept of Respiratory Medicine + Faculty of Health, Medicine, and Life Sciences, Maastricht University Medical Centre+
1984 – 1986: Dept of Internal Medicine, Ziekenhuis Mariastichting Haarlem, the Netherlands
Academic Background
1984 MD (Free University of Amsterdam)
1991 completed training in respiratory medicine (Maastricht)
1993 PhD
2001 Leadership development for academic health professionals, Harvard School of Public Health
2003 Leadership course, Maastricht University
2008 Appointed Professor of Respiratory Medicine, in particular management of chronic obstructive lung diseases
2019 Head of the department of Respiratory Medicine
2021 Medical director of the MUMC+ centre for chronic diseases
Publications
> 60 W1 peer-reviewed publications and > 50 other publications and book chapters
Miscellaneous
2011 – 2013: president of the Dutch Association of Respiratory Specialists (NVALT)
2015 – 2020: board member LAN (Dutch Lung Alliance, treasurer)
