The Joint Residency Advisory and Accreditation Committee

The Joint Residency Advisory and Accreditation Committee (JRAAC) is a joint committee of the EANS and the UEMS, whose primary aim is to improve the quality of neurosurgical training programmes throughout Europe by acting as a pan-European accreditation and monitoring body.

The work of JRAAC is based on the guidelines set out in the European Neurosurgical Training Charter.

European Accreditation of neurosurgical training programmes and units

Visiting and evaluating training institutions and the provision of constructive feedback offers an important opportunity to enhance training standards, and most of JRAAC’s activities therefore focus on these areas.

The accreditation procedure is based on the UEMS Training Charter in Neurosurgery, and those considering application should refer to this document in order better to understand the criteria against which their unit and training programme will be assessed.

If a training institution demonstrates that it complies with the standards for residency programmes in neurosurgery as set down in the UEMS Training Charter, it will receive JRAAC accreditation -certification by the UEMS and EANS as a Center of Excellence in Neurosurgical Training.

European Monitoring of neurosurgical training programmes and units

National professional bodies (responsible for the recognition of medical specialists in individual countries) can monitor and recognise neurosurgical training programmes using UEMS standards based on the Training Charter. In the interest of developing common standards, cooperation with JRAAC is recommended.

Lindsay K. Accreditation of neurosurgical training programmes in Europe: report of JRAAC. Acta Neurochir (Wien). 2012 May;154(5):947-9. doi: 10.1007/s00701-012-1337-x. PubMed PMID: 22527575.

Trojanowski T. Report of the JRAAC on the situation of the accreditation training programmes in Europe. Acta Neurochir (Wien). 2008 Aug;150(8):851-3. doi: 10.1007/s00701-008-1620-z. PubMed PMID: 18651107.

Report of the JRAAC on the Situation of the Accreditation Training Programmes in Europe. Acta Neurochir (Wien). 2007 Oct;149(10):1083-6. PubMed PMID: 17922083.

Trojanowski T; EANS; UEMS. Report of the JRAAC on the situation of the accreditation training programmes in Europe. Acta Neurochir (Wien). 2007 Aug;149(8):837-40. PubMed PMID: 17676280.

Benes V; Joint Residency Advisory and Accreditation Committee (JRAAC). Report of the JRAAC on the Situation of the Accreditation Training Programmes in Europe. Acta Neurochir (Wien). 2007 Mar;149(3):333-5. PubMed PMID: 17342381.