I chose to undertake a complex spine fellowship in Sheffield’s Northern General on recommendation of two consultants who had trained me or trained ahead of me. I am so glad for their recommendation. I wanted to do a fellowship in paediatric spine, and orthopaedic spine as during my training I had not been very exposed to spinal deformity, spinal trauma, or paediatric spine.

I learnt to dictate at speed while listening! Only for 30 minutes a week, but definitely a skill I needed to learn. I learnt to be faster and more methodical in clinic (reducing my “new patient” time from 45-55 minutes to 25-35 minutes). I learnt to recognise patterns of presentation which helped me streamline my examination and management decisions.

The fellowship is however incredibly broad and allows flexibility to focus on areas of most need. I spent 2 days per week at the Childrens hospital doing predominantly scoliosis surgery and the associated clinic. I spend the remainder of my time at the adult hospital managing cauda equina, major trauma, complex degenerative, and infectious pathology. I feel my time at Sheffield prepared me exceptionally well for consultant practice, and allowed me to focus on gaps in my knowledge and skill set. I was encouraged to take on increasing levels of responsibility. There was plenty of opportunity for quality improvement projects, research, and attendance of management courses or similar which helped with consultant post preparation.

Most importantly, I joined one of the most kind and functional teams I have ever worked in. I enjoyed coming to work everyday, being mentored with real care and enthusiasm. I would recommend this fellowship highly to any trainee, but especially neurosurgical trainees who want to understand the full gamut of spinal disease.

I am now working as a consultant neurosurgeon at Tenwek Mission Hospital, Kenya.