ADVICE TO FUTURE APPLICANTS

Disclaimer

The following is provided as advice only to applicants and is subject to change without notice. Whilst this information may guide future applicants in preparing to apply for the SET Program in Neurosurgery the NSA, Board of Neurosurgery and Royal Australasian College of Surgeons take no responsibility arising from any action, activity or direction undertaken by a potential applicant as a result of this advice.

 

Selection Regulations

While the current Regulations may be used as guide applicants considering applying for future years must be aware that all eligibility requirements, selection process and selection standards are subject to change.

Regulations for Selection to the SET Program in Neurosurgery 2009 intake (2010 Intake available in December 2008)

 

Clinical Experience

Obtain as much neurosurgical and surgical experience as possible prior to application. Although neurosurgical experience is not currently a requirement it is scored in the curriculum vitae and will assist applicants' in the interview as some of the questions are focused on insight into neurosurgery as a career path and experience in varied working environments.

In securing neurosurgical and surgical rotations, aim for rotations which are longer than eight weeks to provide you with adequate exposure (shorter rotations are not scored). Other surgical experiences which may be beneficial include plastic surgery, orthopaedic surgery and otolaryngology - head and neck surgery.

Intensive care and emergency rotations may be scored in the curriculum vitae as part of the selection process provided they are longer than eight weeks. This experience is highly recommended to all applicants.

 

Professional Development Activities

Applicants who complete the existing Basic Surgical Training Examinations, ASSET Course, CCrISP Course or EMST Course may receive recognition of prior learning if successful in their application to the SET Program. As such they will not be required to complete these components during SET in Neurosurgery. They may also be scored in the curriculum vitae as part of the selection process.

Applicants who have personally given a presentation at a surgical or medical meeting, excluding hospital based meetings or the like, may also score in the curriculum vitae.

Applicants who undertake development activities such as attending scientific meetings (excluding hospital based meetings), courses, workshops or other similar activities may also score in the curriculum vitae. The Board would encourage applicants to take every opportunity available to participate in such activities if they become available. It is important to note that the Board appreciates that participation in such activities can be difficult and that many applicants will not have had the opportunity

Publications

The Board does not expect, and the majority of applicants for SET1 are not anticipated to have, a publication in a peer reviewed journal. Applicants who do may be scored accordingly. Published abstracts are not scored.

Qualifications

The Board does not expect, and the majority of applicants do not have, higher degrees other than the MBBS or equivalent. The MBBS or equivalent is not scored as part of the curriculum vitae however applicants who do have other qualifications may be scored accordingly.

References

The Board collects referee reports from supervising consultant for rotations applicants have undertaken. It is important to talk with your supervising consultants and seek regular feedback on your performance and areas where you can improve. One of the most important areas which the Board places emphasis on is an applicant's demonstrated insight into their own strengths and weaknesses, a willingness to accept positive and negative feedback from others, learn from experiences, display honesty in admitting to errors and demonstrate the ability seek advice and respond when necessary. Referees will be asked to provide feedback on these areas, among others. The referee report has six categories. Attitudes and professional conduct is one category however it is worth approximately 45% of the overall score for the referee reports and is also a significant component of the interview so please keep this in mind.

Questions

Please direct any questions regarding the Regulations in writing (email, fax or postal) to the Neurosurgery Education and Training Officer:

SET Program in Neurosurgery
College of Surgeons' Gardens
240 Spring Street
MELBOURNE VIC 3000
Australia
Phone + 61 3 9249 1280
Fax + 61 3 9249 1293
Email set.neurosurgery@surgeons.org