Preceptor: Daniel Orringer, MD
Contact: Alexandra Tapia, Alexandra.Tapia@NYULangone.org
Telephone: 212-263-6414

Prerequisite: None

Who should enroll in this elective?

Students who are considering Neurosurgery as a career

Students who are entering an allied field, such as Neurology or Surgery

Students who are simply interested in this clinical area

Clinical sites

Tisch/Kimmel Hospital, Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital, Bellevue Hospital

Description

This is an introductory 2-week elective that seeks to introduce students to the field of Neurosurgery. As an introductory elective, students will be expected to gain a broad understanding of the core principles, foundational knowledge, and essential skills relevant to the specialty through encounters with a diverse range of cases reflective of this specialty. Experience will be obtained in inpatient management. The experience will be divided among the Tisch Adult Service, Bellevue Adult Service, and Pediatric Neurosurgery.

Objectives of the Elective

By the end of this elective, through daily contact with patients and didactics, you will:

1. Gain a deeper understanding of the field of neurosurgery, building on your pre-clerkship and clerkship experiences, through a broad exposure to neurosurgical care and procedures
2. Expand your skills in inpatient and outpatient workup and management of patients with neurologic conditions that you may encounter throughout your career, regardless of specialty
3. Learn about specialty-specific history and physical exams as well as the indications for, and complications of specialty-specific procedures
4. Gain knowledge on how to fine tune neurologic exams, interpret skull and cervical x-ray pictures and CT and MRI images
5. Gain insight into the interdisciplinary nature of this specialty and how our clinicians interact with other medical disciplines to provide comprehensive patient care
6. Explore the option of neurosurgery as a career choice

Key Responsibilities of the student while on Elective

By enrolling in this elective, you have agreed to:

1. Participate in at least 35 contact hours of education each week
2. Provide communication of any excused absences to the Office of Student Affairs (excused absence form) and to the elective coordinator, in a timely fashion
3. Arrive in a timely fashion to all locations to which you are assigned
4. Participation in daily morning rounds and patient care with residents and attendings
5. Be an active participant in the care of patients being followed by the team, as dictated by the resident/attending
6. Attend all didactics provided for trainees, as outlined below

Key Responsibilities of the preceptor/residents/faculty while you are on Elective

By accepting your enrollment in this elective, the department has agreed to:

1. Clearly communicate their expectations of you
2. Maintain a supportive clinical learning environment
3. Ensure that you have access to a broad case mix and clinical experience
4. Provide the education necessary for you to gain an understanding of the patients and pathology reflective of this specialty
5. Provide feedback on your clinical skills

Weekly schedule

Week 1

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Vascular Conference	Spine Tumor Board			Brain Tumor Board Neurosurgery Grand Rounds Pediatric Neurosurgery Conference

Week 2

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Vascular Conference	Spine Tumor Board			Brain Tumor Board Neurosurgery Grand Rounds Pediatric Neurosurgery Conference

Method of evaluation

Evaluation is based on attendance, interest, presentations and quantity of workups.

Scheduling information

Duration: 2 Weeks

Months Offered: All year

Student point of contact before start of elective: Alexandra Tapia, Alexandra.Tapia@NYULangone.org

On day 1, students report to: Please page neurosurgery resident on call if you have not received other instructions.

Students per elective block: 4