Felipe Aguilar-Chavez, Fernando Gonzalez-Gonzalez, Angel Lee, Orlando Alvarez-Medina, Adrian Anchondo-Alvidrez, Maria Elena Martinez Tapia, Carlos A Arellanes-Chavez
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: The emergence of spine surgery fellowship programs in Mexico is gaining significance; however, there exists a paucity of available information pertaining to the specific requirements and criteria employed for candidate selection, operational structure, and educational framework, which affects the ability of potential applicants to make informed decisions about their training options.
Methods: A systematic web search was executed to identify the official websites of the predominant private and public health care institutions that provide spine fellowship programs in Mexico. This search was carried out by 3 spine surgery fellows between December 2023 and January 2024 utilizing the Google search engine with specific keywords previously employed in similar studies. Subsequently, we performed an evaluation to ascertain the existence of 13 elements that are pertinent to residency candidates and the ease of finding information for each program.
Results: Twenty-five spine surgery fellowship programs were identified. Of these, 14 (56%) are endorsed by the Autonomous University of Mexico, 2 (8%) by La Salle University, and the remainder by various universities such as the Autonomous University of Guadalajara and the Autonomous University of Chihuahua, among others. The majority of programs were listed on the website of the Mexican Association of Spine Surgeons, with contact information being readily available in most cases (72%), whereas details about program chairs were primarily found on hospital websites (16%). The simplicity of the search revealed that 88% of programs could be easily located online.
Conclusions: Numerous spine surgery training programs are deficient in thorough online information, which creates challenges for prospective national and international applicants seeking details. Most programs depend on their reputation instead of an online presence, indicating a chance to improve marketing and visibility of spine surgery fellowship programs in Mexico.
Clinical relevance: The training of spine surgeons is extremely important, so the visibility of training programs helps promote this specialty and, therefore, the training of surgeons.
期刊介绍：
The International Journal of Spine Surgery is the official scientific journal of ISASS, the International Intradiscal Therapy Society, the Pittsburgh Spine Summit, and the Büttner-Janz Spinefoundation, and is an official partner of the Southern Neurosurgical Society. The goal of the International Journal of Spine Surgery is to promote and disseminate online the most up-to-date scientific and clinical research into innovations in motion preservation and new spinal surgery technology, including basic science, biologics, and tissue engineering. The Journal is dedicated to educating spine surgeons worldwide by reporting on the scientific basis, indications, surgical techniques, complications, outcomes, and follow-up data for promising spinal procedures.
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