The New Swiss Postgraduate Training (Residency Program) in Neurology: Making Swiss Neurologists More Competitive

Following the creation of the first university chair for neurology (Zurich 1894), the Swiss Neurological Society (SNG) was founded in 1908.. In 1932, neurology was recognized in Switzerland as an independent specialty and included in the medical (undergraduate) curriculum. The postgraduate training (residency program) in neurology lasted first 4 years (including 1 year of internal medicine, 0.5 years of psychiatry and 2.5 years of clinical neurology as mandatory rotations). In 1985, it grew to 5 years, and in 1996 to 6 years (including 1 year of internal medicine, 3 years of clinical neurology, and 1 year of clinical neurophysiology). Considering the results of a survey among young neurologists and “landscape changes” such as the increasing subspecialization, economic pressure, requirements for research, number of foreign doctors, and restrictions of working hours, the SNG undertook a revision which was approved in 2016. Today, the Swiss neurology postgraduate training includes 1 year of internal medicine, a “common trunk” of 3 years of general neurology (with 1 year of clinical neurophysiology including sleep), and 2 years of “fellowships” with rotations in different subspecialties and up to 12 months of research.