As a fourth-year student, you'll have the exciting opportunity to explore advanced surgical techniques and learn from distinguished faculty who are leaders in the field of neurosurgery. Your involvement in innovative research will not only enhance your education but also contribute to the advancement of neurosurgical practices. USF Health fosters a collaborative environment that empowers you to develop into a leader, well-prepared to address complex neurological conditions with compassion, expertise, and precision. To facilitate your experience, we utilize the Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO) for managing applications from visiting students. For detailed information about the application requirements for the Morsani College of Medicine's VSLO program, we encourage you to visit the Office of the Registrar's page.

When searching for the neurosurgery elective, please be sure to use the institutional name 'USF Health Morsani'.

Please note, completion of a sub-internship rotation is encouraged, but not a requirement to match with our program. We understand that you can only complete so many rotations in your fourth year. We will give every applicant full consideration, regardless of whether he/she completed a sub-internship with our program. By the same token, completion of a sub-internship does not automatically secure an invitation to interview down the road.

During your sub-internship, you will work alongside residents and faculty at Tampa General Hospital (TGH), gaining hands-on exposure to neurosurgical inpatient care, operative cases, in-house call, and outpatient clinics at our South Tampa campus. This experience provides an opportunity to become integrated into the clinical team while learning from faculty and residents across a wide range of neurosurgical subspecialties.

Sub-interns are expected to actively participate in the educational activities of the department, including weekly didactic sessions, Grand Rounds, Cranial, Vascular, and Spine conferences. As part of the rotation, each visiting student will give a presentation at Grand Rounds, providing an opportunity to engage with faculty, residents, and fellows in an academic setting.

During your rotation, we will arrange meetings with Course Director, Dr. Kunal Vakharia, and Program Director, Dr. Mark Greenberg. We encourage you to get to know our faculty and residents, ask questions, and take advantage of the opportunity to learn more about our training environment and department culture.

The VSLO application opens on April 1 of the academic year. Interested applicants may contact our Program Administrator, Michelle Campbell, at memaldonado@usf.edu beginning in January for information regarding the application and rotation process.

Students should plan to submit a CV, personal statement, and medical school transcript. If possible, we encourage applicants to provide at least two preferred rotation periods.

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