Career Development - Neurosurgery | Tulane School of Medicine

What Does Training Look Like?

Training involves a year of internship, and then 5-6 years of residency. There are opportunities to do fellowship training in multiple sub-specialties.

Subspecialties

Sub-specialties include spine, functional, vascular, neuro-oncology, skull base surgery, pediatric neurosurgery, and peripheral nerve surgery.

What Does a Typical Workday Look Like?

1-2 days per week are spent in clinic, and the other 3-4 days are generally spent operating. Rounds are between 6-7 am, prior to clinic or OR.

Important Qualities and Traits

Qualities recognized as important to neurosurgery include:

Self-motivation
Dedication to the specialty
Ability to perform well in stressful situations

Shadowing Opportunities

For shadowing opportunities, please contact Dr. Christopher Maulucci.

Research Opportunities

There are laboratory opportunities with Dr. Dumont, working on an animal model of aneurysm formation and rupture. There are also various clinical projects ongoing at different times. Currently, there is a project evaluating different technologies for the endovascular treatment of acute ischemic stroke.

Additionally, students may want to pursue research opportunities through the DeBakey Scholars Program. This program offers medical students the opportunity to pursue and complete a longitudinal, structured, closely supervised research experience culminating in a capstone presentation prior to graduation. For more information, contact Dr. Derek Pociask.

Specialty Interest Group

American Association of Neurological Surgeons is a student-run organization dedicated to helping students pursue their interest in the field of Neurosurgery.

Who are the Specialty Academic/Career Advisors for this Specialty?

Dr. Johnny Delashaw

Recommended T3 & T4 Coursework

Doing neurosurgery electives and sub-internships is highly recommended. In general, doing a neurosurgery rotation toward the middle to end of the T3 year would be preferred, after basic operative skills have been obtained in the general surgery rotation.

Specialty Statistics

Summary Statistics (from "Charting Outcomes in the Match 2022")

Matched

Measure (n=174)

1. Mean number of contiguous ranks	18.7
2. Mean number of distinct specialties ranked	1.0
3. Mean USMLE Step 1 score	248
4. Mean USMLE Step 2 score	252
5. Mean number of research experiences	6.6
6. Mean number of abstracts, presentations, and publications	25.5
7. Mean number of work experiences	3.6
8. Mean number of volunteer experiences	7.6
9. Percentage who are AOA members	28.7
10. Percentage who graduated from one of the 40 U.S. medical schools with the highest NIH funding	42.5
11. Percentage who have Ph.D. degree	11.4
12. Percentage who have another graduate degree	22.6

Note: Only U.S. MD seniors who gave consent to use their information in research are included.

Sources. NRMP Data Warehouse; Top 40 U.S. medical schools with the highest NIH funding in measure 10 is from the NIH website (http://report.nih.gov/award/index.cfm).

Special Considerations When Applying for Residency

Doing away rotations to obtain additional letters of recommendation and getting additional exposure to neurosurgery is recommended.

Important Advice

Work hard and be useful during your away rotations, particularly if it is a program you would like to attend. Work well with the group and be respectful to residents, attendings, midlevel practitioners, and your fellow students.

Research experience is important and some of the very academically oriented programs will not interview you without it.

Where Past Tulane Students Have Matched