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Neurosurgery Subinternship

OU Neurosurgery Sub-Internship Overview

The University of Oklahoma Department of Neurosurgery was established in 1946, making it one of the oldest training programs in the United States. To date, our faculty have trained and graduated 76 residents. At present, our facility remains the only academic neurosurgery program in the state of Oklahoma, with 16 full-time clinical faculty, 7 basic science researchers, 11 post-doctoral fellows and neuroscience graduate students, and 3 board-certified neurologists whose practices are fully within the Department of Neurosurgery. Current resident operative case volumes exceed 4,500 cases annually at our main campus, which includes OU Medical Center, Oklahoma Children’s Hospital, and the Oklahoma VA. Additionally, resident rotations in the community setting include exposed to another 680 complex spine cases at Mercy Hospital, and 200 peripheral nerve cases at McBride Hospital. Our department has a uniquely integrated structure for translational research, with both clinical neurosurgery and the neuroscience graduate program housed in our department and led by our neurosurgeons.

The OU Neurosurgery sub-internship provides deep exposure to visiting medical students who endeavor to learn the fundamentals of clinical neurosurgery with our team. Broadly, the clinical rotation is centered on a large volume of operative and hospital-based learning opportunities, which are designed to help senior-level medical students develop their neurosurgical knowledge base and decision-making abilities, advance their basic technical and operative skills, and master the fundamentals of routine neurosurgical care in settings such as bedside rounds, clinical consultations, and emergency management.

Students will work closely with residents, faculty, and advanced practice providers throughout the rotation, in order to learn from numerous members of our multidisciplinary team and develop all aspects of their neurosurgical acumen. Additional opportunities will include attending outpatient clinic with our chair and other staff neurosurgeons, participating in operative and bedside procedures, formal one-on-one meetings with faculty, and social engagements with the resident team. Taken together, these activities are intended to provide insight regarding the opportunities and lifestyle that characterize our neurosurgery residency training program, as well an occasion to get to know our team and its culture on a personal level.

Sub-internship last four weeks: three weeks are spend on the adult neurosurgery teams at OU Medical Center, while the fourth week is spent at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital with the pediatric neurosurgeons. Standard features of the rotation include an introductory session and a debriefing with the Medical Student Director and Co-director, Dr. Christopher Graffeo and Dr. Viren Desai. Responsibilities include rounding with the residents, attending case-based daily didactics lead by the Program Director, Dr. Andrew Jea (“Morning Report”), and participation in weekly conferences such as Grand Rounds on Friday morning and ad hoc “Brain School” sessions offered by the teaching faculty in the afternoon throughout the rotation. Call responsibilities are determined by the Chief Resident, with students recommended to take at least 1 overnight call per week. Each rotating sub-intern will present on a topic of their choosing during Grand Rounds prior to the end of the rotation, and feedback will be provided and solicited by Dr. Graffeo and Dr. Desai during debriefing.

Fourth-year medical students enrolled in a Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) accredited medical school are eligible to apply through the Visiting Student Application Service (VSAS), no later than April of their M3 year. Please refer questions or requests for additional information regarding the OU Neurosurgery Sub-internship to our residency coordinator, Emily Tally: emily-tally@ouhsc.edu