Toward Subspeciality Training Fellowships in India

Sir, I read with interest the article by Deora et al. on the fellowship training in India for the young neurosurgeons.[1] With expansion of the field of Neurosurgery and its exponential progress happening by the day, subspeciality training fellowships are the need of the hour. At present, there are not many centers imparting exclusive subspeciality training. Second, such training is mainly observer ship or assistantship, with inadequate hands-on training in most cases. The duration varies from a few "days" to a few "weeks" to a maximum of a year. There is no proper certification of the training so obtained. Formal fellowship training is available in overseas centers but is difficult to get and is very costly. I have the following suggestions: Centers of excellence for each subspeciality need to be identified with adequate subspeciality work volume and infrastructure for training. The fellowship training should be of minimum 2-years duration. The training curriculum for each subspeciality for structured hands-on training has to be formulated. The trainees need to be supported financially during the training with adequate stipend. The selection for the candidates may be by a written test/interview/combination of both. There should be an evaluation by a panel of experts in the field at the end of training by evaluation of log books and oral interview. The subspeciality fellowships need to be accredited preferably by the National Medical Commission (NMC) or, if it is not possible, at least by the Neurological Society of India (NSI). The NSI may form subspeciality fellowship committees for each subspeciality incorporating the experts in those fields to implement the suggestions mentioned above. These, if implemented, will go a long way in establishing standardized recognized fellowship training in India. I really appreciate the authors in conducting a survey in this regard and highlighting the problems. Financial support and sponsorship Nil. Conflicts of interest There are no conflicts of interest.