Faculty / program leadership: D'Aquino Daniel · Khalid Salem
Profile completeness89%
Comprehensive · Missing commencement date
DECISION SUMMARY
Key facts at a glance
Eligibility
International route mentioned
Funding
No programme fee is stated by AO. AO pays the fellow a small stipend toward accommodation and living costs, calculated from a benchmark of USD 550 per week of fellowship in the United States and adjusted by a purchasing-power-parity price-level ratio for other countries, paid in Swiss-franc equivalents; it is a contribution only and may not cover all costs. Travel and insurance are paid entirely by the fellow; AO does not arrange accommodation. The exact weekly stipend for this country is not shown on the AO pages.
Deadline
Not published
Duration
4 to 12 weeks
Hands-on
No hands-on role indicated
Clinical exposureShort-term AO Spine fellowship (observership-style placement) at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, The Centre For Spinal Studies and Surgery. The host page states that AO fellows have an opportunity to scrub in (host note on licence/requirements: "Successful candidates will have to complete an occupational health clearance process within Nottingham university hospitals before they can scrub in."); it does not say whether independent hands-on patient care is permitted. Techniques listed by the host: standard open surgery, tuberculosis surgery, minimally invasive surgery, anterior surgery, spinal navigation, intradural surgery, thoracoscopy. The host describes the Centre for Spinal Studies and Surgery as a comprehensive spinal management hub offering exposure to elective surgery and to emergency spinal referrals (tumour, trauma, infection/inflammation) with combined orthopaedic spinal and neurosurgical input, daily emergency spinal MDTs and an emergency spinal assessment unit run largely by advanced physiotherapy practitioners, plus regular multidisciplinary meetings with radiology, anaesthetics, paediatrics, intensive care and elderly-care physicians.
Participation levelObservational pathway. No independent patient care or operative privileges are implied.
INTERNATIONAL APPLICANT CHECK
Can an international surgeon apply?
≈Partially published
International applicants
AO Spine fellowships are open to orthopaedic, neurosurgical and trauma surgeons worldwide who meet the AO membership and course criteria; the host centre is allocated by AO from the applicant's preferences and available places. Nationality is not restricted on the AO page.
?Confirm directly with host
Clinical role
Observational pathway; no independent patient care is implied. Hands-on clinical activity is not described for this observational pathway.
≈Partially published
Medical registration
Host page, answer to 'special licence required to scrub in?': Successful candidates will have to complete an occupational health clearance process within Nottingham university hospitals before they can scrub in. | Documents/vaccines the host asks the fellow to provide: Occupational Health documentation, COVID vaccination certificates
—Not published
Language
No formal language requirement is published by the cited source.
≈Partially published
Visa or work authorisation
Not published on the AO programme page or the host page.
DATA QUALITY & AVAILABILITY79% of core application fields verifiedChecked 3 Oct 2026 · Next scheduled editorial review: 2027-04-01
✓ programme title✓ institution / department✓ city and country✓ programme classification✓ subspecialty✓ current status evidence✓ duration✓ commencement / intake✓ funding✓ benefits✓ eligibility✓ international eligibility✓ registration✓ application process✓ required documents✓ application portal✓ faculty✓ verified faculty photograph✓ verified institution logo✓ official source✓ institutional source✓ accreditation / organisation source✓ verification date— positions · not published by the cited official source— accommodation / relocation · queued for source review— Language requirement not published · queued for source review— visa / work authorisation · not published by the cited official source— Current deadline not yet published · not published by the cited official source— official contact · not published by the cited official source
APPLICATION TIMELINE & CONTACT
Plan the application
Application deadlineNo current deadline published in the cited evidence
Commencing dateIntake date not published
Application route / cycleThe most recent window (2027 programme) has ended. The AO programme page states that applications for the 2028 programme reopen in April 2027 (open call April 2027, close call May 2027, results September 2027); exact dates are not published.
Official contactAO Foundation fellowship team (applications are handled by AO; do not contact the host before confirmation); surgeon in charge of fellows at host: Khalid Salem
Spine physician, or specialised in orthopaedics, neurosurgery or trauma surgery, with a strong interest in spine surgery
Previous participation in at least one AO course or AO event (online or face to face)
At least two years of AO Spine membership before applying (active membership required)
Has not taken part in a spine fellowship in the past two years (except self-funded)
Up to 45 years old at the time of application
Application documents
Letter of motivation
Curriculum vitae including list of publications
Copy of medical diploma or specialisation diploma (orthopaedics/neurosurgery)
Most recent AO Spine course/event certificate
One recommendation letter from a senior surgeon (signed, with contact details, not older than 6 months)
Copy of passport
Proof of English proficiency (certificate or self-statement)
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
What this program offers
AO-coordinated short-term fellowship (placement through AO Spine) at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust; operating-room language English, English written/spoken proficiency written (3)* / spoken (4)* (scale 1-5, as published).
BENEFITS & SUPPORT
Published benefits and support
AO Spine fellowship stipend as above; no salary is mentioned.
HOST INSTITUTION
About Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust is an AO Spine fellowship host centre (The Centre For Spinal Studies and Surgery). AO host page lists 40 beds in the department and 1148 surgical cases per year.
