Essential Neuro – Neurosurgery for the non-neursurgeon 2025
The Essential Neuro Workshop was created to strengthen neuro-care where specialists may not be available. Hosted in Windhoek, Namibia, this 2-day event brought together generalists and specialists to share practical knowledge, build skills, and grow networks.
Clinical Program
Our clinical sessions were designed with the non-specialist audience in mind, reflecting the reality that neurosurgical emergencies often present to generalists first. Over 1.5 days, delegates went through sessions on stroke, hydrocephalus, traumatic brain injury, spine emergencies, intracranial infections, haemorrhage, and paediatric neurosurgical conditions.
These sessions answered the practical, pressing questions that frontline providers face: When should I act? What must I not miss? When do I refer?
A particularly powerful element came from the scholarship neurosurgery trainees who joined us from Rwanda, Zambia, Botswana, and Tanzania. They described how similar cases were approached in their home centres, often under resource constraints, and then engaged in case-based discussions with senior faculty to unpack the best practice approach. This process not only clarified management but also encouraged reflection on how to adapt principles to their own settings .
By tailoring neurosurgery for the generalist, the workshop addressed a critical gap in training and highlighted the urgent need to expand such capacity-building initiatives.
Research Program
The half-day research component was intentionally minimally didactic. Instead of a lecture-heavy format, we prioritised hands-on engagement. Delegates were split into small groups, each facilitated by experienced researchers, where they could bring forward their own projects, challenges, and questions.
This created a safe and practical learning space:
- Delegates tested ideas against experienced faculty.
- They worked through real barriers — from formulating their research question to developing their study design, to data collection, ethics, writing, and grants.
- Every group, regardless of specialty, showed keen interest and active participation.
As for our scholarship awardees, many spoke about wanting to “soak up as much as possible” not only for themselves, but so they could return home and share knowledge with colleagues hungry for training opportunities.
This multiplier effect, one delegate returning to strengthen an entire department or hospital, underscores the immense value of even a short, well-structured training program. The research sessions in particular showed that across specialties and career stages, there is a keen need for guidance in turning clinical questions into impactful studies that can improve care locally.
Why This Matters
what we learnt, is what we are teaching and what we are teaching, we are doing
Essential Neuro gave me practical guidance on how to begin
Essential Neuro helped me think broadly in terms of future career
The Essential Neuro Workshop demonstrated beyond doubt that there is both demand and impact: clinicians and allied health care professionals at all levels are eager to learn, and they carry that knowledge back to their teams, patients, and institutions. We aim to continue expanding access to under-represented regions, provide more scholarships to those in need, strengthen follow-up mentorship and build a growing community of generalists and specialists working together to improve neurosurgical care in Africa.
Because in neurosurgery, as our workshop reminded us: brains don’t wait for specialists.
