Elective Course Description
The goal of this elective is to introduce students interested in neurosurgery to the surgical management of patients with primary and secondary neoplasms of the nervous system. The student will participate as a subintern in all activities of the Neurosurgery Department at Memorial Hospital including inpatient rounds, outpatient clinic, consultations and assisting during surgery.
Learning Objectives
- Obtain a complete and reliable history, with a focus on oncologic patients requiring neurosurgical evaluation
- Perform a focused and reliable neurologic examination in patients with neurologic disorders, including those with altered level of consciousness and neurologic deficits due to tumors of the brain and spine
- Organize and deliver a clear, concise, and thorough oral presentation of a patient’s history and examination.
- Distinguish normal from abnormal findings on a neurologic examination.
- Formulate a differential diagnosis based on lesion localization, time course, and relevant historical and demographic features.
- Describe the use and interpretation of common tests used in neurosurgical disease.
- Learn the basic set-up of neurosurgical operating rooms
- Understand the key steps of brain and spine tumor surgery
- Explain and interpret the medical literature pertinent to specific issues of patient care
Suggested Literature
- Handbook of Neurosurgery, Mark S. Greenberg
- Atlas of Neurosurgical Techniques, Sekhar / Fessler
- Fundamentals of Operative Neurosurgery, Connolly et. al