Neurosurgical education in Egypt and Africa

Abstract

<jats:sec><jats:title>OBJECTIVE</jats:title><jats:p>Africa still significantly lags in the development of neurosurgery. Egypt, located in North Africa, is well-developed in this specialty, with the largest number of neurosurgeons among all African countries. This article provides insight into neurosurgical training in Egypt, the challenges African neurosurgeons are facing, and the requirements needed to enhance neurosurgical education and build up the required neurosurgical capacity in Africa.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>METHODS</jats:title><jats:p>The information presented in the current work was collected from databases of the Egyptian Society of Neurological Surgeons and the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>RESULTS</jats:title><jats:p>There are two types of neurosurgical certification in Egypt. The first type is granted by the universities (MD), and the second is awarded by the Ministry of Health (Fellow of Neurosurgery). The program in both types ranges from 6 to 9 years. The number of qualified neurosurgeons in Egypt constitutes one-third of the total number of African neurosurgeons. There is a significant shortage of neurological surgeons in Africa, and the distribution is entirely unbalanced, with the majority of neurosurgeons concentrated in the North and South regions. The most important challenge facing neurosurgery in Africa is lack of resources, which is considered to be the main obstacle to the development of neurosurgery. Other challenges include the limited number of neurosurgeons, lack of training programs, and lack of collaboration among the different regions.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>CONCLUSIONS</jats:title><jats:p>Proper collaboration among the different regions within the African continent regarding neurosurgical education will enhance African neurosurgical capacity and make neurosurgery an independent specialty. The definite functional polarity among different regions, regarding both the number of qualified neurosurgeons and the neurosurgical capacity, is an important factor that could help in the development of neurosurgery in this continent.</jats:p></jats:sec>

Neurosurgical education during COVID-19: challenges and lessons learned in Egypt

“…Redeployment in most hospitals was obligatory to make up for the shortage of doctors. The public health system in our country faces the problem of shortage of physicians because of their emigration searching for better working conditions [11]. This shortage was exacerbated during the pandemic due to the increased rate of infection among the medical staff and the tsunami of COVID-19 patients especially in the early time of the pandemic when the health authorities decided to isolate all COVID-19-positive cases, even mild or asymptomatic, in the hospitals.…”

“…They were forced to buy their own PPE. In our country, many residents worked in private hospitals alongside university hospitals to increase their income [11]. Many private hospitals were designated for isolation and management of coronavirus patients, and the rest of other disciplines became marginalized.…”

Virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: a turning point in neurosurgical education

“…Other authors have also found similar responses in low-income nations. 31 Traditionally, participation by lower-income nations at major scientific meetings has been poor. 14 Although organizers have reduced registration fees for these participants, the major barrier remains travel and accommodation costs.…”

Automated classification of brain tumors by deep learning-based models on magnetic resonance images using a developed web-based interface

“…According to the Global Neurosurgical Workforce Map 2016 data on the website of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS), while Japan had the highest rate in the world with 5.89 neurosurgeons per 100000 people, the reported rates were 1.6 per 100000 for the USA, 1.5 per 100000 for Germany, 1.26 per 100000 for Turkey, and 0.34 per 100000 for England, respectively. This rate was 0.44 per 100000 in Egypt, which has a third of the neurosurgeons available across the entire African continent, 0.061 per 100000 people in South Africa, 0.049 per 100000 in Kenya, 0.025 per 100000 in Ethiopia and 0.015 per 100000 in Tanzania, while South Sudan, Liberia, and Sierra Leone still have no neurosurgeons (41).…”