Neurosurgical education in Europe

Excerpt

Two articles in this issue of Acta Neurochirurgica by Steinen et al. investigate current neurosurgical education in Europe, based on the largest and most comprehensive survey amongst trainees so far [1, 2]. The main conclusions the authors draw from the survey are: (1) The theoretical and practical aspects of neurosurgical training are highly variable throughout European countries. (2) Less than 40 % of the >500 responders participate in training programmes that adhere to the European Working Time directive with a maximum weekly working time of 48 h [2]. The authors describe the European Working Time directive as a bureaucratic constraint hindering high-quality postgraduate training. …