Become a member
To apply for SBNS membership click the link below and visit our application page.
Patient Information
SBNS is unable to give medical advice or recommend neurosurgeons. Please use an appropriate support group or your GP.
Become a Neurosurgeon
The management of neurosurgical patients requires excellent medical and surgical skills, a career in Neurosurgery offers many challenges and rewards.
Contact the SBNS Office
Follow the link below to use our contact form or to find the appropriate telephone numbers.
The Joint Committee on Intercollegiate Examinations (JCIE)
The Intercollegiate FRCS Specialty Examination in Neurosurgery is a requirement for CCT. Section 1 & Section 2 examinations are held twice a year. Applications should be made via the Intercollegiate Examination Board website.
The exam is an "exit" exam. The standard of the pass mark is set at the level of a day one consultant in the generality of the specialty.
For full details about the regulations, dates, fees etc., please visit the Intercollegiate Examination Board website.
Revised Entry Criteria for Examinations administered by the JCIE (Aug 2022)
The Joint Surgical Colleges Fellowship Examination (JSCFE)
The JSCFE assesses applied knowledge and clinical skills to the same standard as the UK and Ireland Intercollegiate Specialty Examinations. The JSCFE is aimed at surgeons in the international community who are about to, or who have recently completed their training.
Prospective applicants should, however, note that the Intercollegiate Specialty Examinations and the JSCFE are not equivalent. It is only the Intercollegiate Specialty Examinations that are regulated by the General Medical Council (GMC) and it is therefore only Intercollegiate Specialty Examinations that are recognised by the GMC and Medical Council in Ireland as the test of knowledge within the approved surgical curricula. As such, success in the JSCFE which is presented within a CESR application must be accompanied by a portfolio of further evidence of knowledge to demonstrate equivalence to a CCT holder.
For full details about the regulations, dates, fees etc., please visit the JCSFE website.
The European Examination
The European Board Examination in Neurological Surgery is open to UK trainees whether or not they have taken part in the EANS Course. The first part can be taken before CCT and is in the form of a multiple choice examination; the second part may be taken in the final year of training and is an oral examination.
For details of The European Board Examination in Neurological Surgery see the EANS website.