The Global Neurosurgery Program, seated in the UAB Department of Neurosurgery, is dedicated to fostering excellence in neurosurgical practices across borders, empowering healthcare professionals and trainees and advancing patient care globally. Through training, mentorship and experiential learning opportunities, we aim to shape compassionate, skilled neurosurgeons who can navigate and address the complexities of neurosurgical care on a global scale.
Mission and Vision
At the core of our mission lies a commitment to global health education, program development and research collaboration.
We strive to equip future generations of neurosurgeons to actively engage in providing neurosurgical care globally, foster stronger collaboration within the global neurosurgical community, and bolster the development capacity of neurosurgical services.
Program Objectives
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Empower Future Neurosurgeons
- Establish a formal program curriculum that seamlessly integrates with the UAB Neurosurgery resident training program and journal club schedule.
- Establish a one-year global neurosurgery fellowship track with a formalized curriculum cohesive with the larger UAB Global Health educational and research ecosystem.
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Foster Global Collaboration
- Integrate the program with the UAB global landscape and other organizations worldwide.
- Facilitate visits of UAB residents and fellows to partner hospitals for short term experience under supervision of UAB and partner institution faculty.
- Host global fellows at UAB for short-term observational fellowships and research training.
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Strengthen Neurosurgical Capacity
- Build program and research infrastructure and establish clinical research and neurosurgical capacity collaborations with existing partnerships that are equitable and sustainable.
- Cultivate a culture that embraces the power of advocacy to improve neurosurgical care, exploring its impact on policy development and implementation strategies to positively impact neurosurgical care on a global scale.
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Advance Research and Innovation
- Participate in the integration of partner sites into research consortiums and grants to sustain international partnerships.
- Engage actively in the development, utilization and training of technology and innovative tools suitable for diverse contexts aiming to bridge disparities, fostering equitable access to program development and neurosurgical care.
Policy and Advocacy
Through advocacy efforts, policy research and engagement with policymakers and international organizations, we aim to influence global health agendas and shape policy frameworks by advancing initiatives that prioritize and support the needs of neurosurgeons and patients worldwide.
Education and Collaboration
Through collaborative training, mentorship, and experiential learning opportunities, we aim to shape compassionate, skilled neurosurgeons who can navigate and address the complexities of neurosurgical care on a global scale and excel in diverse global healthcare landscapes.
Global Partnerships
Our program is committed to enhancing global health by facilitating global visits to and from our international partner sites. These visits offer research training, educational opportunities and research and quality improvement projects.
Intersurgeon
This virtual mapping platform, co-founded by Global Neurosurgery Program Director James Johnston, M.D., plays a critical role in fostering connections within the global surgery community to advance clinical care, teaching, training, research and the provision and maintenance of surgical equipment. With the original aim to build partnerships between pediatric neurosurgery teams, InterSurgeon’s reach has expanded significantly through collaborations with organizations advocating for surgical, obstetrics, trauma, and anesthesia care, such as the G4 Alliance. This evolution has broadened InterSurgeon’s focus, transforming this platform in a hub for fostering partnerships across all facets of global surgery. InterSurgeon provides insight into existing activities, gaps in services, and partnerships opportunities, while facilitating immediate connectivity and concrete action.
To visit the Global Neurosurgery Program profile at InterSurgeon click here.
Program Development Phases
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Phase 1: Baseline
Drawing from prior research on the landscape of global pediatric neurosurgery outreach and fellowship programs, we created a comprehensive survey to better understand the perspectives of UAB Neurosurgery faculty and residents and Heersink School of Medicine students. This survey aimed to assess the perceptions surrounding participants’ past experiences in global neurosurgery and gauge interest in integrating global neurosurgery into our curriculum. Additionally, we are actively engaging residents with prior international rotation experience and collaborating with our partner hospitals to identify and evaluate key learning challenges, strengths and improvement opportunities for future international endeavors.
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Phase 2: Education and Collaboration
We have initiated the integration of essential global neurosurgery and global health topics into the current neurosurgical curriculum to enhance the expertise of UAB neurosurgery residents in these areas.
Short-term global neurosurgery fellows visiting UAB participate in observational fellowships and research training in the Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Children’s of Alabama. These fellows range from senior neurosurgeons to trainees from various hospitals worldwide. Our program is committed to enhancing these visits by establishing clear objectives for each visit, offering research training and providing educational opportunities during their time at UAB, in addition to clinical observation. Faculty members, residents and fellows also actively participate in UAB's international outreach activities. We aspire to extend these opportunities to adult neurosurgery, facilitating global visits to our partner sites. These visits will be structured around defined objectives related to research and quality improvement projects, as well as observer training, guided by principles of equity and ethics.
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Phase 3: Global Fellowship
The UAB Global Neurosurgery Program and its partners are currently working to establish a formal Global Neurosurgery Fellowship Program.
Monitoring and Evaluation
Monitoring and evaluation are crucial for global health intervention. We aim to track and report information on our projects and its intended results and determine the impact or value of our projects. We have established indicators that can provide information about the outcomes of all the elements of our program.