Path to success: female leaders in German neurosurgery.

Despite advances in gender equality, only 6% of German neurosurgical departments are currently led by women. With regard to their pioneering work and the importance of their role model effect, we aimed at reporting on the career pathways of the present and former female chairs of neurosurgical departments in Germany. We approached current and former female chairs in German neurosurgery and gathered descriptive information on their ways into leadership positions through structured interviews. Data were obtained from 16/22 (72.7%) female neurosurgical chairs, aged between 44 and 82 years. They completed their training within 6.5 ± 0.6 years, and it took them further 14.5 ± 5.9 years between training completion and chair acquisition. Having obtained their chair positions between 1993 and 2020, six (37.5%) of them have retired or changed career tracks. Of ten (62.5%) chairs still practicing, two are directors of university departments. Twelve (75.0%) hold professorships. Nine chairs (56.3%) are married, eight (50.0%) having children. Five chairs reported having experienced gender-based discrimination. Twelve had a male mentor or role model, two had a female role model, while only one had a female mentor. This study characterizes the to date small number of female neurosurgical chairs in Germany and their paths to neurosurgical leadership positions. In future, these should become historical in order to perceive the presence of women in leadership positions as self-evident normality, reflecting our society. However, further analyses comparing paths of both female and male neurosurgical chairs are necessary to explore gender-based differences in achieving neurosurgical leadership positions.

Survey on Training Satisfaction among German Neurosurgical Trainees.

BACKGROUND: There has been a fivefold increase of neurosurgeons over the last three decades in Germany, despite a lesser increase in operations. Currently, there are approximately 1,000 neurosurgical residents employed at training hospitals. Little is known about the overall training experience and career opportunities for these trainees. METHODS: In our role as resident representatives, we implemented a mailing list for interested German neurosurgical trainees. Thereafter, we created a survey including 25 items to assess the trainees' satisfaction with their training and their perceived career prospects, which we then distributed through the mailing list. The survey was open from April 1 until May 31 2021. RESULTS: Ninety trainees were enrolled in the mailing list and we received 81 completed responses to our survey. Overall, 47% of the trainees were very dissatisfied or dissatisfied with their training. Sixty-two percent of the trainees reported a lack of surgical training. Fifty-eight percent of trainees found it difficult to attend courses or classes and only 16% had consistent mentoring. There was an expressed desire for a more structured training program and mentoring projects. In addition, 88% of trainees were willing to relocate for fellowships outside their current hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: Half of the responders were dissatisfied with their neurosurgical training. There are various aspects that require improvement, such as the training curriculum, structured mentoring, and reduction of the amount of administrative work. We propose the implementation of a modernized structured curriculum, which addresses the mentioned aspects, in order to improve neurosurgical training and, consecutively, patient care.