Newbie wanting some info

[JelloBrain]

Hi neurosurgeons,
I have been a long time lurker on SDN, but this is my first post. I have 3 questions:

1. What is the attrition rate, if any, in neurosurgery residency? I have heard it is up to 20% in general surgery, hence my question.

2. How can I find out which programs are trauma heavy (my main interest)? I know some like MGH, Seattle, etc., but would like a list of a few at least.

3. Which programs are best to train in to secure future Paed. neurosurgery (my 2nd main interest) fellowship? A list of few programs would help.

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks and happy holidays,

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[mpp]

The attrition rate is likely somewhere around 10 percent. Most people know what they're getting into (I hope).

Most programs offer a good deal of trauma as most academic centers are trauma centers. The real question should be which programs don't offer much training in trauma and in reality there are few. Some of the cities in which there are several programs (NYC for example) may actually be lighter in trauma because of all the diluting that gets done. Pprograms in less urban locations may be heavier in trauma since most of the trauma from a large catchment area gets sent there (e.g., University of Iowa). Programs famed for their trauma heavy nature include UW-Seattle, Memphis, Emory, UTSW-Dallas, etc.

There are more pediatric fellowships available then there are applicants to fill them. In some programs pediatrics is just sort of folded into the mix of other cases. In others there is a dedicated rotation where the resident acts as sort of "chief resident" in pediatrics.

It seems you are interested in the two fields of neurosurgery (trauma and pediatrics) that most neurosurgeons aren't. You should not have much trouble specializing in either of those.

 

[JelloBrain]

Thanks so much mpp. I had lost hope that anyone would reply. I know my interest fields are not interesting to others, however I have an uphill battle to get into a neurosurgery residency. I'm foreign born and trained abroad (India/UK), moved here for postdoc fellowship in TBI, and am considering staying in USA. I do have greencard, so visa isn't an issue. Thanks anyways, I didn't know about Iowa, Memphis, Dallas and Emory being good trauma centres.

 

[JeffLebowski]

The attrition rate is likely somewhere around 10 percent. Most people know what they're getting into (I hope).

Most programs offer a good deal of trauma as most academic centers are trauma centers. The real question should be which programs don't offer much training in trauma and in reality there are few. Some of the cities in which there are several programs (NYC for example) may actually be lighter in trauma because of all the diluting that gets done. Pprograms in less urban locations may be heavier in trauma since most of the trauma from a large catchment area gets sent there (e.g., University of Iowa). Programs famed for their trauma heavy nature include UW-Seattle, Memphis, Emory, UTSW-Dallas, etc.

There are more pediatric fellowships available then there are applicants to fill them. In some programs pediatrics is just sort of folded into the mix of other cases. In others there is a dedicated rotation where the resident acts as sort of "chief resident" in pediatrics.

It seems you are interested in the two fields of neurosurgery (trauma and pediatrics) that most neurosurgeons aren't. You should not have much trouble specializing in either of those.

Univ. of Maryland's pretty trauma-heavy as well, with Shock Trauma as one of their major institutions.