Review of global neurosurgery education: Horizon of Neurosurgery in the Developing Countries

Abstract

Globally, the discipline of neurosurgery has evolved remarkably fast. Despite being one of the latest medical specialties, which appeared only around hundred years ago, it has witnessed innovations in the aspects of diagnostics methods, macro and micro surgical techniques, and treatment modalities. Unfortunately, this development is not evenly distributed between developed and developing countries. The same is the case with neurosurgical education and training, which developed from only traditional apprentice programs in the past to more structured, competence-based programs with various teaching methods being utilized, in recent times. A similar gap can be observed between developed and developing counties when it comes to neurosurgical education. Fortunately, most of the scholars working in this field do understand the coherent relationship between neurosurgical education and neurosurgical practice. In context to this understanding, a symposium was organized during the World Federation of Neurological Surgeons (WFNS) Special World Congress Beijing 2019. This symposium was the brain child of Prof. Yoko Kato-one of the eminent leaders in neurosurgery and an inspiration for female neurosurgeons. Invited speakers from different continents presented the stages of development of neurosurgical education in their respective countries. This paper summarizes the outcome of these presentations, with particular emphasis on and the challenges faced by developing countries in terms of neurosurgical education and strategies to cope with these challenges.

Keywords: Developing countries; Global neurosurgical education.

Fig. 1

Group photo at the closing on day 1 of the symposium