Neurosurgery Residency
Make a true difference in the outcomes — and lives — of neurosurgery patients with a Geisinger residency.
About us
You want to choose the right residency program — and we’re committed to helping you find it.
Ready for a comprehensive, high-quality and personally rewarding experience to prepare yourself for a career in medicine? The neurosurgery program at Geisinger awaits.
Clemens Schirmer, MD, PhD, program director
Program highlights
Neurosurgery is delicate. It’s demanding. At Geisinger, we believe the best way to learn this intricate specialty is through practical experience that will enrich your career for decades to come.
If you’re up to the challenge, we’re ready to guide you in joining the next generation of successful neurosurgeons. Whether you choose an academic or clinical path, you’ll train at high-volume surgical centers that serve approximately 1 million patients in central and northeastern Pennsylvania — yet still enjoy the benefits of living and working in a small town.
As a learner, you’ll test your skills in two facilities that handle 2,000 to 3,000 major neurosurgical cases per year — and the education and experience you receive here will equip you to successfully practice neurosurgery in an ever-changing environment. You’ll stay grounded in underlying scientific principles, clinical investigation, population management, quality improvement and patient engagement.
Here, you’ll have the opportunity to learn with a strong, established team of mentors whose experience ranges from laboratory science to clinical trials to public health and beyond. Their hands-on experience in a small-town area that serves thousands of patients per year offers an invaluable perspective on the realities of patient care. Their love for their specialty comes through in every interaction and lesson.
As your knowledge grows over the course of your seven-year Geisinger Neurosurgery Residency, you’ll gain practical and clinical experience. We designed our curriculum in keeping with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Matrix and Milestones program. Over the course of the program, you’ll gain experience in:
- Functional neurosurgery
- Neuro-oncology
- Neurotrauma
- Neurovascular neurosurgery
- Pediatric neurosurgery
- Peripheral nerve surgery
- Spinal surgery
- Neurocritical care
- Endovascular neurosurgery
The opportunities to learn don’t end in the operating room. Our high-volume surgical centers include full-service inpatient and outpatient neurosurgical facilities, rehabilitation services and community clinics. We partner closely with the neurology residency training program for additional educational opportunities, such as our visiting professor program. Plus, all PGY-4 neurosurgery residents enjoy a year of individualized study to pursue research programs, clinical enfolded fellowships or other healthcare-related advanced degrees or courses of study.
Our research resources are rich and varied, and our faculty offers mentorship in:
- Laboratory science
- Clinical trials
- Population and public health
- Health care delivery
- Comparative effectiveness research
This is your chance to experience the full spectrum of 24/7 care alongside attending neurosurgical, physician attendant and nursing staff in our Department of Neurosurgery. With no service burden to worry about, you’ll enjoy simply focusing on teaching and interacting with providers, patients and other learners.
Build the healthcare delivery system of tomorrow
Location
Training will take place in two hospitals, Geisinger Medical Center (GMC), in Danville, Pa., and Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center (GWV), in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. GMC is a large quaternary referral hospital, housing a Level I trauma center, a stroke center and the Geisinger Janet Weis Children’s Hospital. GWV is a large regional hospital housing a Level I trauma center.
Danville is a unique and wonderful place to train. Opportunities for outdoor recreation are endless, the cost of living is low and traffic is almost nonexistent. In addition, we are close enough to Philadelphia, New York City and Washington, D.C., to make weekend getaways easy.