Residents have the opportunity to participate in a multitude of educational activities throughout the course of their time in our program. A number of these activities are described below.
COURSES AND MEETINGS
The Neurosurgery Department provides full support for residents to attend the following courses/meetings:
- Research Update in Neuroscience for Neurosurgeons (RUNN) course in Woods Hole, MA.
- Kranzler Board Review Course.
- CNS and AANS annual meetings.
- Michigan Association of Neurological Surgeons (MANS) meeting.
- Annual Neurosurgery Resident Research Symposium (see below for details).
- Michigan-Ohio State Neuroanatomy Course (see below for details).
- Residents may also attend select courses throughout the year that cater to their individual interests within neurosurgery.
CONFERENCES & GRAND ROUNDS
Brain Tumor Board
Fridays, 7AM, via ZOOM
Clinicopathological Correlation Conference
3rd Thursdays of each month, 7-8AM, Neurosurgery Conference Room (Taubman 3898)
Morbidity and Mortality Conference
2nd Thursdays of each month, 7-9AM, Neurosurgery Conference Room (Taubman 3898)
Neuro-Oncology
1st Mondays, 5PM, Neurosurgery Conference Room (Taubman 3898)
Resident Teaching Conferences
1st, 4th, and 5th Thursdays of each month, 7-9AM, Neurosurgery Conference Room (Taubman 3898)
Journal Club
Monthly, Neurosurgery Conference Room (Taubman 3898)
NEUROSURGERY RESIDENT RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM
Our educational mission is to train highly skilled neurosurgeons with a strong background in clinical neurosurgery and research. We equip our neurosurgical residents with excellent clinical skills, stimulate their interest in teaching and research, demonstrate the relevance and enjoyment of continuing education, and provide them the skills and judgment to practice neurosurgery safely and competently. The Neurosurgery Resident Research Symposium was established to stimulate and promote our residents’ academic productivity and to bring together research and clinical colleagues in neurosurgery. Each year in the spring, residents present their research at this gathering and awards are given to the residents with the best clinical and best basic science presentations. Additionally, a nationally-renowned neurosurgeon is invited each year to deliver the keynote address and help judge the presentations.
NEUROSCIENCE DAY
Also occurring in May each year, the Departments of Neurosurgery and Neurology co-sponsor “Neuroscience Day,” which provides residents a forum to present original research. The Neurosurgery residents have a very strong tradition of winning (cash) prizes for their work presented.
MICHIGAN-OHIO STATE NEUROANATOMY COURSE
Each year, U-M neurosurgery residents also have the opportunity to get together with neurosurgery residents from rival Ohio State University for the Neuroanatomy Course. This intensive course offers residents a great mix of medical education and hands-on surgical training. The location of the course alternates each year between Ann Arbor and Columbus.
ANATOMICAL EDUCATION
A cadaver laboratory for instruction in neurosurgical anatomy was established in 2000 at the VA Hospital, in order to allow residents hands-on instruction in surgical approaches. In this laboratory, each resident dissects a cadaver head and neck for the purpose of practicing standard neurosurgical approaches, typically during the VA rotation.
Procedures include anterior and posterior approaches to the cervical spine, pterional craniotomy, cavernous sinus approaches, midline posterior fossa procedures (including access by the supracerebellar route to the pineal), and retrosigmoid operations. Time permitting, dissections also include the skullbase, transcallosal, and bifrontal procedures. Standard surgical tools and equipment are used in these dissections, including an operating microscope, drills, etc.
The neurosurgical anatomy curriculum includes a didactic talk prior to each dissection with emphasis on the relevant clinical and surgical anatomy. Talks during this rotation also include didactic sessions on brain and spinal cord anatomy, CSF, cerebral blood flow, etc., with the appropriate physiology involved. In 2013, the neurosurgical anatomy laboratory moved to the Department of Anatomy at the Medical School.
As an adjunct to the hands-on anatomy laboratory, one of our recent graduates, Dr. Luis Savastano, performed high-quality brain and spinal cord dissections in latex-injected specimens for both research and didactic purposes. These beautifully preserved specimens complement the rich surgical anatomy experience within the neurosurgical residency.
VISITING LECTURESHIPS
Several times throughout the year, the U-M Department of Neurosurgery welcomes invited guest speakers and lecturers to present on a variety of neurosurgery-specific topics. Click here to view a historical list of past visiting professors and their topics.
NEUROSCIENTIST TRAINING PROGRAM
The Departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Pathology sponsor residency tracks incorporating significant time for neuroscience research activities. Supported by a R25 grant from the National Institutes of Neurologic Disease and Stroke NINDS/NIH), the UM Clinical Neuroscientist Training Program (UMCNTP) facilitates the development of neurologist, neurosurgeon, or neuropathologist physician-scientists pursuing either laboratory-based or clinical research. Designed for individuals with significant prior research experience, the UMCNTP offers two years of mentored research experience during residency and/or incorporating an immediate post-residency year in an outstanding research environment. The goal of the UMCNTP is to accelerate participant progress towards an independent career.
Interested applicants should contact the UMCNTP Program Director, Roger Albin, MD, at [email protected] or 734-764-1347.
More information on this program is available here.
