It is through undergraduate and postgraduate teaching that we maintain community standards of care for neurosurgical problems and also encourage potential trainees into neurosurgery. The Chair has acted as a focus for increasing participation in these teaching programmes.
As has always been the case, the RAH Department of Neurosurgery is a centre accredited by the RACS for the clinical training of neurosurgeons and under the Directorship of Professor Peter Reilly, the Department has an excellent reputation. Specific training in spinal surgery is also offered as a Fellowship in conjunction with the Orthopaedic Spinal Surgeons and we plan a combined Neurosurgical /Orthopaedic Spinal Service with a shared ward.
Research training is considered a high priority. There is now a developing career path in Australia for academic neurosurgeons; research training no longer needs to be done overseas. The Board of Neurosurgery has increased the duration of advanced training from 4 to 5 years with strong intentions that the extra year will be spent in research. We can therefore expect an increase in the numbers of neurosurgical trainees undertaking higher degrees I research and hopefully pursuing an academic career.
The NRF showed great foresight in establishing the first Chair in Australia and during the past 8 years the chair has provided research training for a large number of future neurosurgeons and neuroscientists. There is now an even greater opportunity to attract neurosurgical trainees as the RACS has recognised the importance to the community of research. To this end the Board of Neurosurgery has added a year of research to the advanced training programme. There will be no shortage of trainees wishing to join our research programme and although we have concentrated on basic science projects in recent years, this will allow us to expand our clinical research.
PO Box 698, North Adelaide SA 5006, Australia
Telephone: +61 8 8371 0771
nrfginta@bigpond.com
