An analysis of cross-continental scholarship requirements during neurosurgical training and national research productivity

Abstract

<jats:sec><jats:title>OBJECTIVE</jats:title><jats:p>Engagement in research and scholarship is considered a hallmark of neurosurgical training. However, the participation of neurosurgical trainees in this experience has only recently been analyzed and described in the United States, with little, if any, data available regarding the research environment in neurosurgical training programs across the globe. Here, the authors set out to identify requirements for research involvement and to quantify publication rates in leading neurosurgical journals throughout various nations across the globe.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>METHODS</jats:title><jats:p>The first aim was to identify the research requirements set by relevant program-accrediting and/or board-certifying agencies via query of the literature and published guidelines. For the second part of the study, the authors attempted to determine each country’s neurosurgical research productivity by quantifying publications in the various large international neurosurgical journals—<jats:italic>World Neurosurgery</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Journal of Neurosurgery</jats:italic>, and <jats:italic>Neurosurgery</jats:italic>—via a structured search of PubMed.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>RESULTS</jats:title><jats:p>Data on neurosurgical training requirements addressing research were available for 54 (28.1%) of 192 countries. Specific research requirements were identified for 39 countries, partial requirements for 8, and no requirements for 7. Surprisingly, the authors observed a trend of increased average research productivity with the absence of designated research requirements, although this finding is not unprecedented in the literature.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>CONCLUSIONS</jats:title><jats:p>A variety of countries of various sizes and neurosurgical workforce densities across the globe have instituted research requirements during training and/or prior to board certification in neurosurgery. These requirements range in intensity from 1 publication or presentation to the completion of a thesis or dissertation and occur at various time points throughout training. While these requirements do not correlate directly to national research productivity, they may provide a foundation for developing countries to establish a culture of excellence in research.</jats:p></jats:sec>

Neurological Surgery Residency Programs in the United States: A National Cross-Sectional Survey

“…Recent articles did not find an association between research requirements and academic productivity. 7,11 Similarly, we found that productivity requirements had no significant impact on resident productivity suggesting that residents are intrinsically motivated and such requirements may be less important. In comparison, greater protected research time and earlier research participation during residency have been significantly associated with increased productivity.…”

The NED foundation experience: A model of global neurosurgery

“…South Africa and some North African countries established training paradigms before other African subregions, accounting for their overwhelming strength and advancement, as well as significant workforce growth and projection over time ( Gasco et al., 2011 ). The COSECSA and the West African College of Surgeons (WACS) constitute the principal training programs in sub-Saharan Africa, but there are several independent national training programs from various universities and hospitals, with an inherent lack of uniformity in their curriculum, duration, expected competencies, and certification processes, and their qualifying credentials are not weighted equivalently by the various governments ( Khamlichi, 1998 , 2001 ; Rallo et al., 2020 ). Altogether, there are 106 neurosurgery training sites in 26 African countries, of which 15 are being developed in 7 East African countries, and only 2 in 1 Central African country ( Ukachukwu et al., 2022 ).…”

Posters Presented at North American Skull Base Society 2016–2018: What Factors Influence Their Publication?

“…From 2005 to 2015, the average graduate from an accredited neurosurgery residency in the United States had 8.3 publications just during residency 3 . More surprisingly, Rallo et al uncovered a trend of increased average research productivity among neurosurgery residents with the absence of a formally designated "research requirement" 4 .…”

“…3 More surprisingly, Rallo et al uncovered a trend of increased average research productivity among neurosurgery residents with the absence of a formally designated "research requirement." 4 At present, an impressive volume of literature has been produced by and is available to neurosurgeons. The "core" journals exerting the most influence on the neurosurgical community have doubled since the mid-1970s, now encompassing The Journal of Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery, Spine, Acta Neurochirurgica, Stroke, and Journal of Neurotrauma.…”