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Neurosurgery Rotation and Application Changes Due to COVID-19: A Medical Student Perspective (Part II)

By COVID-19, GMENo Comments

The COVID-19 public health crisis upended many norms in medical education. Most of medical school is built around significant in-person contact. During COVID-19, educators and students have had to adapt to the changing times to protect public health. Perhaps the most strongly affected individuals are those who applied for the 2021 match. Students and program directors alike were in an unprecedented time — trying to find the right resident “fit” without away rotations and in-person interviews. As an applicant to neurosurgery, I was looking forward to learning how different programs operate compared to my home institution while also furthering my education in my field of interest. While COVID-19 significantly affected this plan, the pandemic also allowed for changes and innovations to the neurosurgery match — some of which may persist beyond the 2021 match cycle. Read More

Neurosurgery Rotation and Application Changes Due to COVID-19: A Medical Student Perspective (Part I)

By COVID-19, GME, MedEdNo Comments

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many changes in the neurosurgery residency application process. Early decisions by the Society of Neurological Surgeons led to the canceling of away rotations, installation of virtual interviews, and a required eight-week home rotation in lieu of visiting rotations. Despite being disappointed that I would be unable to visit programs physically, the neurosurgical response to the challenges as a result of COVID-19 was very proactive, and it was a relief to have a definitive idea of the process early on. Read More

Connecting with the Neurosurgery Community in the COVID-19 Era: Lessons Learned at the University of Miami

By COVID-19, GME, MedEdNo Comments

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the neurosurgery community to utilize new technologies to create and maintain connections. With social distancing guidelines in place, much attention has turned to the virtual space to accomplish this. At the University of Miami, we have trialed several virtual initiatives to connect with the neurosurgery community across the country and the world — from medical students interested in our residency training program to attending neurosurgeons interested in hearing from the world-leading experts in various neurosurgical subspecialties. We report the lessons we have learned during these unprecedented and challenging times. Read More

Virtual Sub-internships and Remote Interviews: A Sudden Paradigm Shift in the Neurosurgical Residency Application Process Due to COVID-19

By COVID-19, GME, MedEdNo Comments

The year 2020 required constant adaptation to a rapidly changing environment in many facets of life. Few would have guessed that national travel would be severely restricted or that surgeons would be wearing face masks to the supermarket. As impactful as the COVID-19 pandemic has been on life in general, the effect on the neurosurgical practice has been similarly profound —  from shifting outpatient care towards a more remote, telehealth presence to restricting non-urgent surgical case volume. Perhaps the most significant, potentially long-lasting effect of the pandemic on the neurosurgical profession has been with the transition from medical student to resident physician. Read More

AANS Neurosurgeon Spotlight: The State of Neurosurgical Education

By AANS Spotlight, Burnout, COVID-19, GMENo Comments

Recent global circumstances have had considerable effects on neurosurgery. In the latest articles from AANS Neurosurgeon, the official socioeconomic publication of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), authors discuss the state of neurosurgical education. Practices have taken steps to not only adapt to a multitude of changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but to thrive among them, while helping their patients do the same. Browse the Education issue for a scientific, artistic and realistic view from those tasked with providing and navigating valuable educational experiences during a time when there is no such thing as “normal.” Read More

COVID-19 and Neurosurgical Training: Impact on the Next Generation of Neurosurgeons (Part II)

By COVID-19, Faces of Neurosurgery, GME, Guest PostNo Comments

What started as a brief segment on the evening news has consumed our daily lives as COVID-19 spreads across the globe. As health care facilities became inundated with critically ill patients, the nation’s intensivists, internists, emergency medicine physicians, nurses and respiratory therapists took to the front lines to fight this invisible enemy. With years of education behind us and at the cusp of the most significant health crisis in recent history, many residents are apprehensive of the future. What would be our role? Would we have adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) and critical care supplies to care for the sick? How can we keep ourselves and families safe? Read More

AANS Neurosurgeon Spotlight: Winter 2020 – The Mind of a Neurosurgeon

By AANS Spotlight, GME, Loss of Life, MedEd, Voices of Neurosurgery DepartmentsNo Comments

In The Mind of a Neurosurgeon, join authors as they discuss navigating life as a neurosurgeon. From work-life balance to processing loss, pursuing creative outlets to the responsibility of training the next generation, neurosurgeons have a unique calling that leads to a special life serving others. Browse the articles and step into the mind of a neurosurgeon for stimulating conversations about the alternate mind, retirement, mindfulness, the outsider’s perspective, music and much more.

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