Neurosurgery

The neuroscience department offers a four-week elective rotation in neurosurgery. Our department provides care for patients of all ages from newborn to the elderly. We provide comprehensive neurosurgical care that includes all subspecialty areas, including brain tumors, complex spine reconstruction, peripheral nerve disorders, pediatric neurosurgery, hydrocephalus, stereotactic radiosurgery, brain and spine trauma, trigeminal neuralgia, chronic pain surgery, interventional neuroradiology procedures, and many other realms of neurosurgery.

The rotating medical student will be integrated into our services by becoming active in the daily care of our patients. Medical students will be expected to attend all educational conferences, contribute on rounds, attend surgical cases in the OR and stereotactic radiosurgery cases in radiation oncology. There are also daily opportunities for students to contribute to outpatient care in the clinic setting. These opportunities are individualized for each student, depending on their interests. We have neurosurgical residents that will provide additional guidance and teaching during your externship with the neurosurgical service. There will be opportunity to scrub and observe/assist us in neurosurgical procedures.

A portion of our cases are done with an operating microscope, which allows the assistants and observers to watch the entire procedure on a monitor. Optional opportunities to take call with the physician assistants, residents, and staff will be provided for interested students. We have an educational lecture series which is solely for the medical students. This syllabus provides a short presentation for the student to discuss with the team on a daily basis during the rotation. Each lecture is designed to require between 10 and 30 minutes for preparation and discussion. This syllabus will be provided on the first day of the rotation.

Goals & objectives

The overall educational objective for the rotating student is to provide each medical student with a very broad overview of the breadth and scope of a busy neurosurgical practice, including a vast array of pathology. The student will be exposed to patients with brain tumors, complex spine reconstruction, peripheral nerve disorders, pediatric neurosurgery, hydrocephalus, stereotactic radiosurgery, brain and spine trauma, trigeminal neuralgia, chronic pain surgery, and many other realms of neurosurgery. Specific educational goals include:

• Gain an understanding of the very broad breadth and scope of a neurosurgical department   
• Review topic in the daily lecture syllabus   
• Attend surgical cases in the OR, neuroendovascular suite and radiation oncology. Students will be provided opportunity to scrub into cases and assist and/or observe the surgeons and residents directly   
• Attend outpatient clinic   
• Optional on-call opportunities