A report from the inaugural meeting of the British Neurosurgical Trainee Research Collaborative held in the Royal College of Surgeons of England, 19 October 2012

Abstract

Clinical research, which is essential for improving patient outcomes, is increasingly carried out in the context of networks established between multiple institutions. Research is also considered an important component of training curricula. The recent successful completion of a randomised trial (ROSSINI), which was led by general surgical trainees of the West Midlands Research Collaborative, has established the feasibility of trainee collaborative research networks. A research network for neurosurgical trainees in the UK and Ireland was, therefore, established following the meeting of the British Neurosurgical Trainee Association (BNTA) in Aberdeen on 19 April 2012. This BNTA initiative quickly gained the full support from the Society of British Neurological Surgeons and the UK Neurosurgical Research Network. The inaugural meeting of the British Neurosurgical Trainee Research Collaborative took place at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, London, on 19 October 2012. The purpose of this report is both to record progress to date and to promote this concept.

Keywords::

• clinical trials
• network
• neurosurgery
• registrar
• resident

Acknowledgements

Following the successful launch meeting, the SBNS Council has agreed to assist the BNTRC with a grant to support start-up expenses of up to £10,000. The grant will cover all validated expenses involved in administration, grant applications, data collection and analysis, and report preparation.

In addition to all the speakers, we wish to thank the following individuals for their help and support: Martyn Coomer, secretary of the Research Board of the Royal College of Surgeons of England; Barbara Gregson and Elise Rowan from the Newcastle Neurosurgical Clinical Trials Unit; Suzanne Murray, senior SBNS administrator; Brigitte Lavoie, research development manager of the SBNS; Simon Crick, assistant associate director of the NIHR Research Design Service (RDS), East of England; Professor Paul Eldridge, Editor-in-Chief of the British Journal of Neurosurgery. We also wish to thank the following organisations for their support: Royal College of Surgeons of England, Society of British Neurological Surgeons, British Neurosurgical Trainee Association, West Midlands Research Collaborative and the NIHR RDS, East of England. The meeting was supported by an educational grant from Codman UK.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no declarations of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

AGK is supported by a Royal College of Surgeons of England Research Fellowship (funded by the Freemasons and the Rosetrees Trust), an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship, and a Sackler Studentship. PJH is supported by an Academy of Medical Sciences/Health Foundation Senior Surgical Scientist Fellowship and the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre. PJH has been appointed as the Neurosurgical Specialty Lead, RCS Clinical Research Initiative. PMB holds a Clinical Lectureship, Edinburgh Clinical Academic Training Programme.