Neurosurgical Summer Course for Overseas Students: A Step toward Better Dialogue with the Future Working Teams

The collaboration between Greifswald and Cairo Universities in neurosurgery started 12 years ago and reached stable steps in academic bi-institutional training and research represented in its various activities. Two exemplary projects are the bi-institutional fellowship of neuroendoscopy representing postgraduate education,[1] and the “Hydrocephalus Research Project” focusing on congenital hydrocephalus as an example of research collaboration.[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Neurosurgical care is an essential component of medical practice in the emergency room and primary care setting. Additionally, medical undergraduate exposure to the specialty could help guide future doctors' career choices. However, exposure to neurosurgical training during medical school can be very limited.[8] [9] For extending this collaboration, we started a summer school program for Egyptian medical students, targeting better orientation with the specialty and encouraging female medical students to choose the neurosurgical profession.

We present our experience of upgrading bi-institutional collaboration to serve for highly skilled undergraduate training in a medical specialty, which would have a positive impact on the future of medical careers.

Publication History

Received: 14 March 2023

Accepted: 03 April 2023

Accepted Manuscript online:
06 April 2023

Article published online:
31 July 2023

• References

• 1 El Refaee E, Zohdi A, Schroeder HWS. Letter: a new trend of blended learning in neurosurgical training—fellowship of neuroendoscopy. Neurosurgery 2021; 89 (01) E89-E90
• 2 Hasanain AA, Abdullah A, Alsawy MFM. et al. Incidence of and causes for ventriculoperitoneal shunt failure in children younger than 2 years: a systematic review. J Neurol Surg A Cent Eur Neurosurg 2019; 80 (01) 26-33
• 3 Hasanain AA, Soliman MAR, Elwy R. et al. An eye on the future for defeating hydrocephalus, ciliary dyskinesia-related hydrocephalus: review article. Br J Neurosurg 2022; 36 (03) 329-339
• 4 Ezzat AAM, Soliman MAR, Hasanain AA. et al. Migration of the distal catheter of ventriculoperitoneal shunts in pediatric age group: case series. World Neurosurg 2018; 119: e131-e137 DOI: 10.1016/j.wneu.2018.07.073.
• 5 Soliman MAR, Ezzat AAM, Elwy R. et al. Letter to the editor regarding “Transoral protrusion of a ventriculoperitoneal catheter caused by jejunal perforation in an adult: rare case report and review of the literature.”. World Neurosurg 2020; 140: 460
• 6 Ali TM, Elwy R, Abdelrazik B. et al. Risk factors of congenital hydrocephalus: a case-control study in a lower-middle-income country (Egypt). J Neurosurg Pediatr 2023; 1: 1-9
• 7 Al Menabbawy A, El Refaee E, Soliman MAR. et al. Outcome improvement in cerebral ventriculitis after ventricular irrigation: a prospective controlled study. J Neurosurg Pediatr 2020; 26 (06) 682-690
• 8 Tiefenbach J, Kaliaperumal C, Demetriades AK. Increasing medical student exposure to neurosurgery: the educational value of special study modules, student selected components, and other undergraduate student projects. Front Surg 2022; 9: 840523
• 9 Lobel DA, Kahn M, Rosen CL, Pilitsis JG. Medical student education in neurosurgery: optional or essential?. Teach Learn Med 2015; 27 (02) 201-204