Rotation Schedule

The Neurosurgical Residency Program at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine is seven years in length and designed to offer residents all opportunities necessary to achieve their professional goals within the field.

Residency training is carried out primarily at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center along with UH community Hospitals:  Ahuja Medical Center, St. John West Shore Medical Center and Southwest Medical Center. As of July 1, 2015, residents rotate to the Wade Park Veterans Administration Medical Center during their third and fourth year of residency.  A varied patient mix at these institutions provides residents with a thorough exposure to the full range of neurological illnesses and surgical technologies.  Residents are given steadily increasing authority for patient care during the clinical years.  The community rotations were designed to maximize the exposure of the neurosurgery residents to patients in the ambulatory setting and allow them to follow patients through every step of their care from preoperative evaluation through the postoperative period.  The rotation will also provide a large volume of minimally invasive spine cases which are lacking at the other teaching sites.  During the fifth and six year, residents can spend time in basic or translational research as preparation for investigative aspects of academic careers or for those residents so inclined, enfolded fellowships and specialized clinical training may be pursued.

PGY1: The year is spent completing five months of Neurosurgery (3 months at UHCMC and 3 months at MHMC). The other six months is spent in the Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit (NSU) or on the Neurology service, where there is an introduction to neurocritical care. At the completion of the year, the resident should be able to see consults and manage patients as a junior resident.

PGY2: Neurosurgery residents in their second year of training spend most of their time on the clinical service at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center.  Residents are exposed to a variety of cases and surgical skills are developed.  Attention is given to developing intensive care and floor service management skills and clinical decision making.   Time is spent with the chief resident as complex cranial openings are learned.   

PGY3: Six months of the year is spent on the clinical service at University Hospitals Case Medical Center. Further development of patient management is encouraged and surgical responsibilities are increased.  A three or four month rotation will be completed at the Wade Park Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC) as well as a three month rotation in Endovascular Neurosurgery and Stereotactic Radiosurgery here at UHCMC.   Residents are also assigned to the Pediatric Neurosurgery service during the third year of training, although some time is spent in Pediatric Neurosurgery during the second and fourth year.

PGY4: Most of the year is spent on the clinical service at University Hospitals.  Residents are considered senior clinical residents at this level and are expected to manage critical care and service patients.  Operative responsibilities are further increased and lead operative roles in complex surgical cases are provided under supervision.  It might be required that fourth year residents spend additional time at the Wade Park VAMC.

PGY5 and 6: This time is spent in a basic science laboratory or completing an enfolded fellowship.  Residents are afforded 18 months of time for academic and translational research or enfolded clinical fellowships/specialized training.   Limited weekend chief coverage is expected.  Six months of this time will be spent as the academic chief resident, assisting with administrative as well as some clinical duties.

PGY7: Residents spend eight months of the year as chief resident at University Hospitals, alternating coverage on the two neurosurgical services.  Four months will be spent as chief resident at Ahuja Medical Center where complex neurosurgical cases are being performed.  Successful completion and passing for credit of the written examination of the Primary Examination of the American Board of Neurological Surgery is required prior to this year.

Call Responsibilities