Program Topics: From the Residency Program Director Program Objectives About Brown University & Medical School Neurosurgery The Hospitals Hospital Facilities Program Overview Educational Program Research Opportunities Libraries Supervision Evaluating Residents Workload and Call Schedule Compensation Support Services and Personnel Applications For More Information

Educational Program

On average, residents spend seven hours a week in regularly scheduled lectures and conferences. We expect them to attend the following core lectures and conferences:

Core Lectures and Conferences

Weekly Meetings

During Neurosurgery Grand Rounds, a case conference with neuropathologic and neuroradiologic correlates, participants review interesting, complex, or problem neurosurgery cases. Most Rhode Island neurosurgeons attend, along with medical students, nurses, neurologists, neuropathologists, radiotherapists, neurooncologists, a neuroradiologist, and residents in radiology, endocrinology, and general surgery.

Spine Conference involves residents and staff in both neurosurgery and orthopedics. Several didactic sessions cover most of the major topics in spine surgery, with the remaining sessions devoted to in-depth case discussions.

The Neuroscience Lecture Series provides a firm grounding in the neurosciences as they relate to clinical neurosurgery and updates clinicians on the latest advances in this dynamic field. The course facilitates interactions between basic scientists and clinicians in training.

At meetings of the Adult Malignant Brain Tumor Board, participants discuss patients who were recently diagnosed with primary or metastatic brain tumors, focusing on treatment options, research protocols, and tumor pathophysiology. Those present include a faculty neurooncologist, attending neurosurgeons, neurosurgery residents, neuropathologists, neuroradiologists, and radiation oncologists.

At Neuropathology Teaching Conference, residents discuss pathologic diagnoses of current neurosurgical patients and review autopsy findings. To help residents prepare for the neurosurgery board examination, neuropathologists provide didactic instruction on a wide range of neuropathologic topics.

Monthly Meetings

Once a month, residents and faculty review cases during Morbidity and Mortality Conference. In Neurosurgery Journal Club, another monthly meeting, residents and faculty discuss two articles from the neurosurgery literature over dinner, which is provided. Sometimes Neurosurgery Board Review meets instead of Journal Club. Multidisciplinary Epilepsy Conference draws participants from neurology, psychiatry, neuropathology, pediatrics, radiation oncology, radiology, and hematology oncology. Neuroanatomy Conference alternates between dissection and a didactive review.

Other Conferences

We urge all residents to attend Neurology Grand Rounds each week. Other weekly meetings include General Surgery Grand Rounds, Orthopedics Grand Rounds, Gamma Knife Conference, Adult Trauma Conference, and Neuroendocrinology (Pituitary) Conference. Pediatric Trauma Conference and Multidisciplinary Pediatric Brain Tumor Conference meet twice a month.