Faculty / program leadership: Martin N. Stienen and Benjamin Martens
Profile completeness72%
Well sourced · Missing funding, application deadline, commencement date
✓ Primary programme source linked✓ Dated source review current— Current cycle evidenced✓ Faculty identity sourced✓ Institution mark verified
DECISION SUMMARY
What matters before you keep reading.
Eligibility
Requirements published
Funding
Not published
Deadline
Not published
Duration
Usually 12 months
Hands-on
Unclear — confirm privileges
Last checked
15 Aug 2026
Duration · publishedUsually 12 months
Clinical exposureSalaried clinical work as a senior or consultant-level team member, including service and on-call duties, within an interdisciplinary centre reporting around 1,400 spine operations annually
Funding · not publishedSalaried hospital employment; current salary amount is not published
DestinationSwitzerland
Participation levelClinical participation and hands-on restrictions must be confirmed directly with the host.
INTERNATIONAL APPLICANT CHECK
What the official evidence currently supports
Decision-critical fields are separated into confirmed facts, partial information and points requiring direct confirmation.
—Not published
International applicant eligibility
The cited source does not explicitly confirm international-applicant eligibility.
✓Published by official source
Required training level
Completed specialist training · Swiss MEBEKO recognition of the medical diploma · Eligibility for Swiss residence and work authorisation · Clinical background suitable for senior-level spine service and on-call duties
✓Published by official source
Programme classification
Clinical or combined training pathway; exact duties remain appointment-specific.
?Confirm directly with host
Hands-on restrictions
Hands-on participation and operative restrictions are not explicitly published.
≈Partially published
Medical registration
MEBEKO recognition is required for the clinical fellowship, together with the professional and employment approvals needed for hospital practice in Switzerland.
?Confirm directly with host
Licensing examinations
Any examination requirement must be confirmed with the relevant regulator and host.
✓Published by official source
Language requirements
German is the operating-room language. The AO host profile rates staff English proficiency 5/5, but the hospital does not publish a formal applicant language-test threshold.
≈Partially published
Visa or work authorisation
The official hospital page requires a Swiss residence and work permit. Applicants must confirm eligibility before appointment.
✓Published by official source
Funding availability
Salaried hospital employment; current salary amount is not published
DATA QUALITY & AVAILABILITY
76% of core application fields verified
Checked 15 Aug 2026. Next scheduled editorial review: 2027-02-11. Every unresolved field keeps its exact evidence state—unpublished, not yet researched, historical, conflicting, inaccessible or not applicable—so an absence is never converted into a fact.
✓ programme title✓ institution / department✓ city and country✓ programme classification✓ subspecialty✓ duration✓ benefits✓ accommodation / relocation✓ eligibility✓ international eligibility✓ language✓ registration✓ visa / work authorisation✓ application process✓ official contact✓ faculty✓ verified faculty photograph✓ verified institution logo✓ official source✓ institutional source✓ accreditation / organisation source✓ verification date— Current availability unconfirmed · current availability unconfirmed— positions · queued for source review— commencement / intake · queued for source review— Funding information not published · queued for source review— Current deadline not yet published · not published by the cited official source— required documents · queued for source review— application portal · not applicable to this pathway
APPLICATION TIMELINE & CONTACT
Plan the application
Application deadlineNo current deadline published in the cited evidence
Commencing dateIntake date not published
Application route / cycleDirect hospital enquiry; the official page does not publish a fixed deadline or commencement date
Deadlines and intake dates can change between cycles. The data-quality ledger above explicitly labels application fields that the cited official source does not publish.
ELIGIBILITY & REQUIREMENTS
Published entry requirements
Clinical / academic eligibility
Completed specialist training
Swiss MEBEKO recognition of the medical diploma
Eligibility for Swiss residence and work authorisation
Clinical background suitable for senior-level spine service and on-call duties
Registration, licence & examinations
MEBEKO recognition is required for the clinical fellowship, together with the professional and employment approvals needed for hospital practice in Switzerland.
Visa / work authorisation
The official hospital page requires a Swiss residence and work permit. Applicants must confirm eligibility before appointment.
Application documents
CV, personal statement, recommendation-letter, transcript and identity-document requirements are not published by the cited official source.
Licensing, visa and document rules depend on the individual programme and application cycle. OrthoFellow does not infer USMLE, AHPRA, ECFMG, recommendation-letter or visa requirements from the country alone.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
What this program offers
A usually one-year, salaried clinical spine fellowship in St. Gallen. The hospital explicitly requires completed specialist training, MEBEKO recognition and Swiss work eligibility and employs fellows at senior or consultant level.
BENEFITS & SUPPORT
Published benefits and support
Hospital employment, integration into the senior clinical team, interdisciplinary teaching and research; staff accommodation can be requested subject to availability.
Benefits may depend on appointment type, training level, visa status and the active academic year. OrthoFellow keeps stipend and benefits separate so a salary figure is not mistaken for the full package.
ACCOMMODATION & RELOCATION
Published housing information
✓ Official source mentions accommodation
⌂
A staff room can be requested from the hospital; availability, price and inclusion in the employment package are not published.
Housing availability, rent, deposits, utilities and relocation support can change by intake and appointment type. OrthoFellow does not estimate living costs unless an official source publishes them.
HOST INSTITUTION
About HOCH Health Ostschweiz, Interdisciplinary Spine Centre
HOCH's Interdisciplinary Spine Centre combines orthopaedic and neurosurgical care, structured teaching, simulator training and clinical research. Its AO profile reports approximately 1,400 annual operations.
Martin N. Stienen is listed in the cited programme evidence as fellowship supervisor / program leadership for HOCH St. Gallen Interdisciplinary Spine Clinical Fellowship. The verified individual profile describes a focus in Intradural and spinal-cord surgery, minimally invasive and endoscopic spine surgery, degenerative spine care. This association does not by itself confirm personal supervision, operative privileges or availability for a future intake.
Professor Stienen co-leads the HOCH Spine Centre and is deputy chief of neurosurgery. His official CV includes spine fellowships at Stanford and Gangnam Severance Hospital and subsequent spine-centre leadership in St. Gallen.
Interdisciplinary spinal surgery and fellowship supervision
Qualifications
Not published on the cited profile
Benjamin Martens is listed in the cited programme evidence as teaching faculty / co-leadership for HOCH St. Gallen Interdisciplinary Spine Clinical Fellowship. The verified individual profile describes a focus in Interdisciplinary spinal surgery and fellowship supervision. This association does not by itself confirm personal supervision, operative privileges or availability for a future intake.
HOCH's official spine-career page lists Dr Martens as co-head of the Interdisciplinary Spine Centre and a contact for clinical-fellowship applicants.
Names and fellowship roles come from the cited programme source. A green “individual profile verified” label means the position, qualifications and biography were also checked against an official personal or institutional profile. OrthoFellow displays a portrait only when it can be tied to an official profile or faculty source; otherwise the host institution brandmark is shown, with initials retained only when neither image is available. Faculty rosters may change.
PROGRAM HISTORY
Published fellowship history
The hospital's career page distinguishes its employed one-year clinical fellowship from a shorter AO Spine observership pathway, preventing the two formats from being conflated.
LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS
Published language requirement
German is the operating-room language. The AO host profile rates staff English proficiency 5/5, but the hospital does not publish a formal applicant language-test threshold.
OrthoFellow keeps language requirements separate from clinical eligibility. A programme may use English operationally without publishing a formal test score.
