Goals & objectives of this program
- Provide training and education in neurosurgery for senior medical officers (pre-residency fellows-junior fellows) that have interest in neurosurgery career
- Provide training in spine surgery patient safety, practice the use of checklist to adhere to best practice guidelines, apply Enhanced Recovery Protocol After Surgery and use of dedicated spine teams across all episodes of care
- Promote shared decision making with providers and patients through the
development and use of educational materials and patient-specific risk
severity scores - Prepare the junior fellows for a career in neurosurgery through mentorship and guidance
- Expose them to neurosurgery practice, research, and academia
- Equip them with base knowledge of neuroanatomy and neurophysiology
essential for a career in neurosurgery - Provide opportunities for international neurosurgery trainings as needed
- Provide a broad knowledge base and gain clinical experience in the
management of neurosurgery patients
Clinical training activities
1. Clinic and Surgical Exposures
Junior Fellows will work closely with our Senior Fellows and faculty to understand the clinical managements of hundreds of neurosurgery diagnoses. They will be exposed to:
- Proper patient evaluation, including physical and neurologic examination, decision-making, diagnostic workup, image application, and treatment alternatives (both operative and non-operative).
- Regular and broad outpatient experience in the various neurosurgery clinics.
- Didactic lectures and case presentations delivered by both Attendings and Senior Fellows (individually or together) at weekly and monthly conferences. This may include attendance of virtual conferences through linkage with international training programs.
2. Educational Resources Available to the Fellows
A. Neurosurgery Teaching Faculty
- Canadian, USA, UK, and Nigeria trained Neurosurgeons with extensive experience in managing patients with spinal and neurosurgery disorders.
- Experienced in modern and complex spine surgery, including minimally invasive and endoscopic spine surgery, less invasive approaches to brain tumors and intracranial bleeds, neuroendovascular treatment of spinal and brain pathologies as well as peripheral nerve surgeries.
- Experienced in working with the latest diagnostic equipment such as CT, MRI, X-rays, IR Suite/Cath lab, and state-of-the-art theatre equipment and instruments.
- Established links to international departments of neurosurgery (e.g., Ochsner Health System/Tulane University; University of North Carolina, etc.), with opportunities to join clinical rounds virtually—neuroradiology, neuropathology, case discussion conferences, etc., and externships at these international departments.
B. Patient Load, Mix, and Procedures
RNZ Neuroscience will avail the Junior Fellows opportunities to be exposed to a whole spectrum of spine disorders ranging from degenerative spine diseases, spine infections, spine trauma, and spinal tumors, to spinal deformity. Our Surgeons are fellowship-trained in spinal pathologies and are board-certified Neurosurgeons. We utilize state-of-the-art surgical techniques, including image- guided microsurgery, and we apply minimally invasive techniques to reduce the morbidity of surgical procedures. Neurosurgery cases include brain tumors, trauma, and neurovascular pathologies. Currently, we perform about 200 neurosurgery and spine cases annually, and we expect to see a significant
increase in the volume due to plans to hire more staff and our planned
expansion to other hospitals in Lagos and Abuja.
C. Academic Events
- Weekly case discussion conferences.
- Weekly virtual conferences- e-spine conferences, e-neurosurgery grand rounds, e-neuroradiology conference.
- Monthly journal club.
- Bi-weekly lecture series.
- Access to e-library with subscriptions to Neurosurgery and Spine journals
- Research training and publications—Fellows will have access to clinical research opportunities. They will be expected to choose 1–2 research projects at the beginning of their fellowship, which must lead to the publication of at least one manuscript. They will also be required to present at least one abstract at a conference during the fellowship.
- Junior Fellows will participate in selected courses, including basic surgical
skill, perioperative management, and basic research courses.
3. Clinical Responsibilities of Junior Fellows and Their Supervision
Junior Fellows function under the direct supervision of the Senior Fellows and Attending Neurosurgeons.
- On-call Responsibilities: The Junior Fellows take first call (depending on service manpower demand) and report to Senior Fellows.
- Clinic Coverage: Junior Fellows are expected to attend all clinics and clerk new patients to obtain clinical history and examination. He/she will then present the cases to the neurosurgery care team. Patient management plans, including reviews of images, are discussed as a team with the Attending Physician.
- Operating Room: Junior fellows are expected to ensure all pre-operative work-up, including blood work, imaging, and medical/anesthesia consultations are completed for all neurosurgery patients. They are expected to obtain surgical consents and assist in getting patients ready for surgery. Junior Fellows assist in surgical procedures to the extent possible and ensure the postoperative care plan is carried out. They also participate in the postoperative management of the patient after discharge from hospital.
- Case Log: All Junior Fellows will be required to maintain a log of operative procedures. The Chief Medical Director reviews the case logs monthly and at the Fellows’ semi-annual evaluations.
- Supervision: Every patient, whether seen in an outpatient clinic, treated in ambulatory surgery, or admitted to the hospital, is assigned an Attending Physician. This physician, the Attending of Record, is ultimately responsible for all care provided to the patient. It is the responsibility of the Junior Fellows to ensure that the care plan developed for each patient is reviewed and approved by the Senior Fellow and Attending of Record. Likewise, any modification of the plan or significant change in patient status is reviewed by the Attending of Record.
Hospital initial consults are initially evaluated by the Junior Fellows on-call, who then consults the Senior Fellow on-call. The Attending Physician is available for consultation to the Senior Fellows as necessary. In the clinic, Senior Fellows may cover the Junior Fellows. Each clinic case is thoroughly discussed and planned with the Attending Physician.
Attending Physicians allow the Junior Fellows to operate in the operating room at their level of ability.
Eligibility of candidates and applications
Applicants must
- Possess an MD or MBBS degree.
- Demonstrable interest in Neurosurgery career.
- He or she must possess a full Nigerian medical license.
- Present a personal statement related to your interest in Neurosurgery.
- 2-3 letters of reference relevant to a career in Neurosurgery
Fill the application form
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