Neurosurgical Postgraduate Training in China: Moving Toward a National Training Standard

China currently has the most populous and rapidly aging nation in the world. In the next few decades, China will have to increase the throughput, quality, and scope of its neurosurgical training programs to meet forecasted demand. Until recently, China lacked national education standards in neurosurgery that fostered imbalances in medical and pedagogical resources, quality of care, and education between different regions and introduced significant heterogeneity in neurosurgical competency. In 2010, Shanghai implemented the first new standards-based comprehensive neurosurgery training program, which spans 7 years broken down into 2 blocks. This model was selected subsequently for nationwide adoption by the Chinese Congress of Neurological Surgeons, with initial implementation in 2015 and full nationwide adoption by 2020. Establishment of a national standardized training system represents a significant milestone in the development and evolution of neurosurgery in China and establishes a comprehensive standards-based system that will help reduce nationwide diversity in neurosurgical training. Although this program is still in its infancy and will not see its first graduating class until 2017 in Shanghai, it represents an essential step toward meeting China's growing demand for quality and consistent neurosurgical care. We review the history of neurosurgical training in Mainland China and describe the new Neurosurgical Specialist Standardized Training Program.