Program Schedule and Rotations

PGY-1: The internship year is integrated with the neurosurgical resident program. Six months are spent under the supervision of the Department of Surgery; including 2 months of trauma/critical care, 2 months of hepatobilary surgery, 1 month of vascular surgery, 1 month of plastic surgery, and 1 month of otolaryngology. The remaining six months are split between three months of Stroke Neurology and 3 months on the neurosurgical service. During this year the resident is expected to gain expertise with the neurological exam and differential diagnosis, learn critical care medicine, gain basic surgical skills, and become comfortable with bedside procedures including ICP monitor placement and ventriculostomies.

PGY-2: This year is spent as a junior resident of the Tampa General neurosurgery service. The resident will share responsibility for both floor and intensive care patient with the other residents on service. Call is approximately 1 in 4 and is taken in-house. During call the resident is responsible for both inhouse and ER consults as well as the care of the service patients. During this time residents are expected to improve their patient care abilities. They will frequently assist in the operating room where they are expected to gain experience with exposure and closure of complex cases as well as master simpler procedures such as subdural hematoma evacuation.

PGY-3: Six months of this year are spent on the Tampa General neurosurgery service. During this time residents will build on the skills they learned during the prior year. Residents will received increased operative independence and are expected to assist in the training of more junior residents and medical students. The remainder of the year is spent as the sole resident at the James A Haley VA hospital. During this rotation the resident have primary responsibility for the service under the direct supervision of the division head. This includes clincs, operative planning and all postop care. Call is taken from home, and weekend coverage is split with the Moffitt resident/fellow.

PGY-4: This year consists of two six months blocks. One is a dedicated pediatric experience at All Children's’ Hospital. Here the resident is exposed to a multitude of pediatric neurosurgical disorders including hydrocephalus, brain and spinal cord tumors as well as trauma and congenital spinal deformities. Call is taken from home and split with several PA’s. The second block is additional time with the TGH service. At this point the resident gains increased autonomy and is involved in more complex cases including skull base tumors, spinal cord tumors and aneurysm clippings and bypasses.

PGY-5: The fifth year of residency is reserved for elective and research projects. Prior residents have done additional training in interventional radiology, complex spinal surgery, or neuro-oncology. Others have worked in the lab on a wide range of topics. This year is designed to allow the resident to explore an area of interest to him/herself that will result in them becoming better more well balanced physicians.

PGY-6: During this year the resident spends 6 months at the H. Lee Moffit Cancer Research Institute. Here they gain operative skill and confidence with a host of oncological disorders including skull base and complex spinal resection and reconstruction. Residents also gain an understanding of the multidisciplinary nature of neuro-oncology and work closely with medical and radiation oncologists throughout the rotation. The final rotation is that of a senior resident at TGH. At this point the focus of the rotation is expansion of the residents surgical skills and a deeper appreciation for the complexity of neurosurgical patients.

PGY-7: As a chief resident on the TGH service this resident serves as both clinical and administrative chief resident. At the completion of his/her training the chief resident has gained sufficient breath of knowledge and surgical experience to either strike out on their own or continue training in a subspecialty fellowship.