A narrative review of international professionalism standards in neurosurgery.

Abstract

Background

This study seeks to characterize and compare the professionalism standards of neurosurgical societies from around the world and identify key elements common to ideas of neurosurgical professionalism internationally.Methods

This is a narrative review of neurosurgical organizations selected based on size of membership, and size or representative diversity of region served. Societies with publicly-available documents in English were preferred. Organizational documents, including governing documents and explicit professionalism/conduct standards, were reviewed. Identifiable professionalism standards were compared for scope, content, and enforceability, and common elements across societies were abstracted.Results

Fifteen societies were included, comprising one global society, five continental societies, and nine national societies. Ten organizations had some form of explicit professionalism standards, of which seven were dedicated, free-standing documents. Dedicated codes of conduct were more common in Western societies. Among these, seven common themes were identified: disruptive behavior, harassment, discrimination, business/ legal activity, scientific/academic integrity, substance abuse and impairment, and social media use.Conclusion

Professionalism is a critical aspect of modern neurosurgery, and has long-reaching effects on patient care and career success. In an era of unprecedented global connection, universal standards of professionalism are critical to the continued growth and success of our community.

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BibTeX RIS

BibTeX

@article{kolcun2026narrative,
  title = {{A narrative review of international professionalism standards in neurosurgery.}},
  author = {John Paul G Kolcun and Sepehr Sani and Stephan A Munich and Vincent C Traynelis and John E O'Toole and Ricardo B V Fontes},
  journal = {Surgical neurology international},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.25259/sni_759_2026},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42974542},
  note = {CC BY-NC-SA},
}

RIS

TY  - JOUR
TI  - A narrative review of international professionalism standards in neurosurgery.
AU  - John Paul G Kolcun
AU  - Sepehr Sani
AU  - Stephan A Munich
AU  - Vincent C Traynelis
AU  - John E O'Toole
AU  - Ricardo B V Fontes
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/02
JO  - Surgical neurology international
DO  - 10.25259/sni_759_2026
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42974542
AB  - Background  This study seeks to characterize and compare the professionalism standards of neurosurgical societies from around the world and identify key elements common to ideas of neurosurgical professionalism internationally.Methods  This is a narrative review of neurosurgical organizations selected based on size of membership, and size or representative diversity of region served. Societies with publicly-available documents in English were preferred. Organizational documents, including governing documents and explicit professionalism/conduct standards, were reviewed. Identifiable professionalism standards were compared for scope, content, and enforceability, and common elements across societies were abstracted.Results  Fifteen societies were included, comprising one global society, five continental societies, and nine national societies. Ten organizations had some form of explicit professionalism standards, of which seven were dedicated, free-standing documents. Dedicated codes of conduct were more common in Western societies. Among these, seven common themes were identified: disruptive behavior, harassment, discrimination, business/ legal activity, scientific/academic integrity, substance abuse and impairment, and social media use.Conclusion  Professionalism is a critical aspect of modern neurosurgery, and has long-reaching effects on patient care and career success. In an era of unprecedented global connection, universal standards of professionalism are critical to the continued growth and success of our community.
SN  - 2229-5097
SN  - 2152-7806
ER  -

Abstract

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