TY - JOUR
T1 - Stereotactic radiosurgery training patterns across neurosurgical programs
T2 - a multi-national survey
AU - Samuel, Nardin
AU - Trifiletti, Daniel M.
AU - Quinones-Hinojosa, Alfredo
AU - Lunsford, L. Dade
AU - Sheehan, Jason
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2021/1
Y1 - 2021/1
N2 - Introduction: The field of neurosurgery has witnessed a dramatic increase in the use of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) as a modality to treat various cranial and spinal pathologies. However, studies have consistently demonstrated disparities in SRS training. Accordingly, the present study represents a cross-sectional analysis of current SRS training and practice patterns. Methods: An online survey was utilized to collect data from participants. Two-sided t-tests were used in order to compare frequency tables for statistically significant differences between groups. Qualitative analyses were performed by modified thematic analyses, employing open and axial coding. Results: A total of 67 participants completed the online survey (16.4% response rate). The majority of participants were neurosurgery attendings (58.2%), followed by neurosurgery residents (25.4%). The majority of participants reported that resident exposure to SRS was gained primarily through non-SRS focused rotations (52.2%). The survey found that exposure to tumor cases was most frequent, followed by functional, vascular, and spine indications. The majority of participants (49.3%) indicate that residents are not competent or exhibit a low level of competency in SRS at the completion of neurosurgical residency. Qualitative analyses demonstrated that respondents believe SRS is a critical modality in current cranial neurosurgical care and that increased training is needed. Conclusions: This study provides a multi-national analysis of SRS residency training and practice patterns, and aims to stimulate improvement in SRS in training worldwide. Enhanced resident training in SRS must include wider exposure to vascular, neoplastic, functional and pediatric indications for SRS.
AB - Introduction: The field of neurosurgery has witnessed a dramatic increase in the use of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) as a modality to treat various cranial and spinal pathologies. However, studies have consistently demonstrated disparities in SRS training. Accordingly, the present study represents a cross-sectional analysis of current SRS training and practice patterns. Methods: An online survey was utilized to collect data from participants. Two-sided t-tests were used in order to compare frequency tables for statistically significant differences between groups. Qualitative analyses were performed by modified thematic analyses, employing open and axial coding. Results: A total of 67 participants completed the online survey (16.4% response rate). The majority of participants were neurosurgery attendings (58.2%), followed by neurosurgery residents (25.4%). The majority of participants reported that resident exposure to SRS was gained primarily through non-SRS focused rotations (52.2%). The survey found that exposure to tumor cases was most frequent, followed by functional, vascular, and spine indications. The majority of participants (49.3%) indicate that residents are not competent or exhibit a low level of competency in SRS at the completion of neurosurgical residency. Qualitative analyses demonstrated that respondents believe SRS is a critical modality in current cranial neurosurgical care and that increased training is needed. Conclusions: This study provides a multi-national analysis of SRS residency training and practice patterns, and aims to stimulate improvement in SRS in training worldwide. Enhanced resident training in SRS must include wider exposure to vascular, neoplastic, functional and pediatric indications for SRS.
KW - Neurosurgery residency
KW - Residency training
KW - Stereotactic radiosurgery
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U2 - 10.1007/s11060-020-03670-x
DO - 10.1007/s11060-020-03670-x
M3 - Article
C2 - 33394260
AN - SCOPUS:85098960111
SN - 0167-594X
VL - 151
SP - 325
EP - 330
JO - Journal of neuro-oncology
JF - Journal of neuro-oncology
IS - 2
ER -