Dear colleagues,
According to Miller’s pyramid of assessment, experts in surgical disciplines may perform better than their counterparts (Miller GE, 1990). Years of surgical experience and the volume of index surgeries performed are certainly prominent factors characterizing an expert. However, an experienced surgeon is not necessarily also an expert. Which level of surgical skills defines an expert in surgical neuro-oncology? How important are additional non-technical personal qualifications, like in-depth medical knowledge, communication skills, or leadership etc.? What is the role of other factors such as the surgical team and facilities (Rethans et al, 2002)?
Subspecialization and corresponding certification efforts are well underway in Europe. However, opinions regarding the underlying concepts and the figures used to define expertise in neuro-oncology likely vary between neurosurgeons but also countries reflecting e.g. different systems of medical care provision. We are interested in characterizing a potential “common ground” of the various views and approaches. To this end we have designed the online survey ‘Expertise in surgical Neuro-oncology’ addressing fellow neurosurgeons in Europe which we would like to ask you to complete. The survey will only take 5 minutes of your time to answer, and we offer your name to be listed and pubmed indexed as a study collaborator if you provide us with your name at the end of the survey.
We want to contrast the results of the survey with the corresponding efforts of the responsible regulatory bodies in the various European countries. We hope that this will help to arrive at a better understanding of what defines expertise in surgical neuro-oncology.
Yours sincerely,
Konstantinos Gousias
Matthias Simon
1. Miller GE, The assessment of clinical skills/competence/performance. Acad Med. 1990;65(9):s63-67.
2. Rethans JJ, Norcini JJ, Baron-Maldonado M, The relationship between competence and performance: implications for assessing practice performance. Med Educ.2002;36(10):901-909
According to Miller’s pyramid of assessment, experts in surgical disciplines may perform better than their counterparts (Miller GE, 1990). Years of surgical experience and the volume of index surgeries performed are certainly prominent factors characterizing an expert. However, an experienced surgeon is not necessarily also an expert. Which level of surgical skills defines an expert in surgical neuro-oncology? How important are additional non-technical personal qualifications, like in-depth medical knowledge, communication skills, or leadership etc.? What is the role of other factors such as the surgical team and facilities (Rethans et al, 2002)?
Subspecialization and corresponding certification efforts are well underway in Europe. However, opinions regarding the underlying concepts and the figures used to define expertise in neuro-oncology likely vary between neurosurgeons but also countries reflecting e.g. different systems of medical care provision. We are interested in characterizing a potential “common ground” of the various views and approaches. To this end we have designed the online survey ‘Expertise in surgical Neuro-oncology’ addressing fellow neurosurgeons in Europe which we would like to ask you to complete. The survey will only take 5 minutes of your time to answer, and we offer your name to be listed and pubmed indexed as a study collaborator if you provide us with your name at the end of the survey.
We want to contrast the results of the survey with the corresponding efforts of the responsible regulatory bodies in the various European countries. We hope that this will help to arrive at a better understanding of what defines expertise in surgical neuro-oncology.
Yours sincerely,
Konstantinos Gousias
Matthias Simon
1. Miller GE, The assessment of clinical skills/competence/performance. Acad Med. 1990;65(9):s63-67.
2. Rethans JJ, Norcini JJ, Baron-Maldonado M, The relationship between competence and performance: implications for assessing practice performance. Med Educ.2002;36(10):901-909