Collaboration between specialties: a US and European experience

Inter‐departmental experiences in endocrinology at the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, and the National University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark are described. These co‐operative units maximize specialty resources for patient care, teaching and research, and constitute an organizational format now appearing in inter‐disciplinary centres of excellence. Many perceived threats to academic‐based endeavours may be aided by greater collaboration between traditional specialty groupings, particularly the primary care oriented departments of medicine and paediatrics.