The Pre-Residency Neurosurgery Fellowship Program, located at Sponsoring Institution University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson Campus, along with Banner University Medical Center – Tucson Campus and Banner University Medical Center – North Campus, offers the full diverse spectrum of neurosurgical training, including oncology, skull base, functional, pediatric, vascular, peripheral nerve, spine and minimally invasive procedures using state of the art technology to train the next generation of academic neurosurgeons. Progress will be assessed by Faculty, Peer, Nurse and Self assessments issued on a quarterly basis, in accordance with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Core Competency-based Neurological Surgery Milestones 2.0 narrative. The Pre-Residency Neurosurgery Fellow will have opportunity to provide feedback regarding his/her teaching faculty, peer house officer trainees, program and didactic conferences on a bi-annual basis.
Training is dedicated to acquisition of fundamental clinical skills. The year includes an introduction into patient care management, with focus on inpatient neurosurgical care. The Pre-Residency Neurosurgery Fellow will receive education in the full diverse spectrum of neurological surgery subspecialties, under direct and indirect supervision from neurosurgery faculty, senior residents, and Complex Spine fellows. The Pre-Residency Neurosurgery Fellow will also contribute to the education of medical students rotating on Neurosurgery service. The first six months of training will allow the Pre-Residency Neurosurgery Fellow to work up a patient in an outpatient clinic setting, learn to interpret radiographic and laboratory results, perform a detailed neurological exam, format differential diagnoses, and develop an assessment and plan with teaching faculty.
The first six months will also include an introduction to inpatient care, rounding on the service with the house officer team and faculty, perform bedside procedures, answer consults from other medical providers, write clear, concise, and relevant patient notes, operative reports and discharge summaries within the electronic medical record system, learn patient care management in the Neurosurgery ICU setting, address Level I neurotrauma consults in the Emergency Room setting, provide pre-, peri- and post-operative neurosurgical patient care, with supervising physicians.
The second six months will allow the Pre-Residency Neurosurgery Fellow the opportunity to provide in-house overnight call, consonant with acquired skills as assessed by supervising faculty.