PGY - 4, 5

Overview

During this two-year period, the resident receives the research training critical to success in pursuing a career in academic Neurosurgery. These years allow trainees an opportunity to pursue research interests in an intensive, mentored environment. As a prelude to this training (during years R1 - R3), the resident will have met regularly with the Department Head to systematically explore neuroscience research opportunities from multiple disciplines. One of the objective of this planning process is to identify a world-class laboratory that will provide the ideal training opportunity for each individual resident.

Patient care:

  1. Properly interpret all lab and neuroimaging studies.
  2. Counsel patients appropriately for obtaining informed consent for complex neurosurgical procedures.
  3. Learn operative skills needed to perform advanced neurosurgical procedures.
  4. Begin to guide all aspects of patient management with faculty supervision.
  5. Provide exemplary patient care as a leader of a neurosurgery team, with delegation of appropriate tasks to more junior residents.

Medical Knowledge:

  1. Pass ABNS written examination for credit at above the 70th percentile by the PGY 5 year.
  2. Demonstrate advanced knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and pharmacology related to peri-operative neurosurgical patients.
  3. Demonstrate complex, efficient and appropriate neurosurgical problem solving and decision making.

Professionalism:

  1. Demonstrate professional behavior at all times including appearance, promptness, and interactions with patients, family, staff, and healthcare providers.
  2. Demonstrate sensitivity and responsiveness to patients' culture, age, gender, and disabilities.
  3. Demonstrate integrity and a commitment to patients that supercedes self interest.

Communication & Interpersonal skills:

  1. Provide compassionate patient care as determined by patients, families, colleagues, and ancillary members of the health care team.
  2. Work effectively as a leader of a health care team.
  3. Meet expectations on all 360 evaluations.

Systems-based practice:

  1. Understand the practice of neurosurgery in a quaternary care hospital, including interactions with other health care organizations and how these elements of health care affect the university practice.
  2. Advocate for quality patient care and assist patients in dealing with healthcare system complexities.
  3. Practice cost-effective health care and resource allocation through evidence-based medical practice that does not compromise quality of care.
  4. Maintain a learning portfolio.

Practice-based learning:

  1. Demonstrate advanced information technology skills to access available patient-care and educational resources.
  2. Demonstrate an ongoing ability to learn from errors.
  3. Demonstrate advanced knowledge of neurosurgical literature and apply this to clinical decision-making and patient management.
  4. Fully integrate into a basic research laboratory and publish these results.