Welcome to the Swiss page of the ESCP!
It is hoped that useful information on Switzerland can be found below. For more information, the Swiss national representative PD Dr Dr Seraina Faes will be pleased to answer your questions - do not hesitate to get in touch by email
Our country is known for its beautiful landscapes, featuring the majestic Swiss Alps, picturesque lakes, and charming villages. Switzerland shares boarders with Germany, France, Italy, Austria, and Lichtenstein, as the country is located at the heart of Europe. Known for a high quality of life, its successful integration policy with one of the largest population shares of foreign inhabitants in Europe, and the longevity of its habitants in the top 5 worldwide, our country offers a perfect blend of natural beauty and modernity.
Switzerland’s healthcare system is among the highest ranked in the world, rated third in the Lancet (2017) worldwide ranking of access and quality of healthcare systems and providing universal coverage through a mix of public and private insurance. The system emphasizes accessibility, efficiency, and innovation, ensuring high standards of care and health outcomes for all residents.
Colorectal surgeons and proctologists’ views are represented by the Swiss Visceral Surgeons and SGC-SSC Home, which include working groups in minimal invasive surgery, coloproctology, peritoneal cancer, endocrine surgery, hernia surgery, acute care surgery, obesity surgery, trauma surgery, Swiss young surgeons, and Women in Surgery Switzerland. Swiss surgeons are reunited by the Kompetenzbasierte Chirurgie - Swiss College Of Surgeons for a core surgical curriculum at the initiation of a surgical career. These societies offer a large number of congresses, training courses, and internships for all specialties and interests, furthermore, several international congresses held in Switzerland complete the wide range of scientific opportunities in our country.
Specialist certification in general surgery is obtained after 6 years of training and passing a 2-step examination. Specialist certification in digestive surgery requires several more years of training for completion of a digestive surgery catalogue as well as passing an oral exam and demonstrating a digestive surgery, whereas colorectal certification is granted by passing the EBSQ Coloproctology. There are an increasing number of formal residency and fellowship positions, yet many aspiring surgeons have to sail by themselves through training. About a third of trainees and surgeons graduated from abroad and enrich the Swiss multiculturalism.
Research is an important asset of Switzerland, and many colorectal surgeons contribute to the high overall scientific productivity of the country, championed by traditional universities and world-class technical universities, with an increasing number of collaborative clinical studies across the country and institutions of a large variety of size and scope.
General Information
Switzerland counted 9,034 million inhabitants by 2024. Of those, 1’360 are members of the Swiss Society of Surgery, 462 members of the Swiss Society of Visceral Surgery, and 98 are ESCP Members.
The largest colorectal meeting in Switzerland is the Home | European Colorectal Congress 2025 (#ECCStGallen), which is held yearly in early December - about 1’400 delegates gather to the St. Gallen Colorectal Week and listen to a close to 100 interactive lectures given by international experts, including a didactic Masterclass in Colorectal Surgery, Proctology Day, laparoscopic colorectal surgery skills course, transanal surgery course, and IBD day. In 2020, the ECCStGallen turned virtual, yet it kept its heart and uniqueness.
Held in Fribourg, Colorectal THRIVE 2026 | Congress where Surgeons THRIVE | Fribourg is a renowned international colorectal surgery congress with world-class faculty, including 40 international experts and 70 expert lectures for a comprehensive coverage of the full spectrum of colorectal surgery and proctology with a Main Congress and a Masterclass.
Three other events belong to the Swiss colorectal scene: the Alpine Colorectal Meeting Home – traditionally held in February in the Alps with its mountain charm, the yearly Meeting of the Swiss Working Group of Coloproctology koloproktologie schweiz, and the Geneva advanced course in Coloproctology and pelvic floor Brochure for 28th Advanced course in proctology no 4 WEB pages 1 held in February.
About our national representative
PD Dr Dr Seraina Faes has been elected in September 2025 at the annual ESCP conference. She passed the EBSQ Certification in Coloproctology in 2021 and is presently a consultant in colorectal surgery at the City Hospital Zurich.