Oxford Neurosurgery ultimately aims to be the best neurosurgical training centre in the UK. Our success can and should be measured by the quality of our training.

We hope to inspire and prepare junior doctors to successfully apply for training and return to Oxford Neurosurgery as trainee neurosurgeons.

We also aim to work with our partners to provide a more broad surgical experience and to help shape the future of British surgical practice through the quality of our graduates.

We run multiple SHO grade programmes. Enrolment in any of our programmes gives the SHO access to:

• Getting into Neurosurgery (GIN) course.

• Post graduate teaching and locally run skills courses.

• Teaching opportunities with Oxford University Medical School, including prosection room teaching.

• Mentoring.

• Projects support.

Our SHO posts currently include:

• Five FY2 posts every four months. These are allocated by the UKFPO.

• Multiple junior clinical fellowships (JCFs) which last a year.

• ST1 in neurosurgery allocated via the national training programme. Neurosurgical training lasts 8 years, however only ST1 is spent on the SHO rota.

The rota consists of normal days, long days including weekends, and nights. All SHOs (FY2s, JCFs, and ST1s) work together as a team on this rota to cover 6 firms:

• Skull Base, Pituitary and Vascular (SPV).

• Oncology Neurosurgery.

• Functional Neurosurgery.

• Neurospine.

• Orthospine.

• Paediatric Neurosurgery.

All rotations including neurosurgery, orthospine, and paediatric neurosurgery, are based at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Headington, Oxford.

We are delighted that ST2s are now off SHO rota to enable them to shadow seniors and prepare for stepping up to the registrar rota.

We recognise that not everyone rotating with us may want to be a neurosurgeon, particularly FY2s. All SHOs spending time with us should develop their own goals with their Trainee Mentor (TM) and Supervisor (CS). However additionally to this each SHO should finish their particular programme having achieved a defined set of knowledge objectives, skill objectives, and having achieved or built towards a long term career objective.