Although it may seem premature to contemplate life after medical school so early in your medical school training, time moves quickly and it is never too soon to start thinking about how you plan to spend the rest of your professional life.

We are writing to introduce you to the field of Neurological Surgery as a possible career. Neurosurgery, the youngest of the surgical sub-specialties, is an extremely sophisticated, highly demanding, constantly changing but richly rewarding discipline concerned with the diagnosis, evaluation and treatment of disorders of the nervous system: the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves. Presently, job opportunities in Neurosurgery are wide open.

If you would like to learn more about Neurosurgery, here are some suggestions:

• Visit the Neurosurgery Department and introduce yourself to the faculty
• Consider doing an elective rotation in Neurosurgery
• Meet and shadow the Neurosurgery Residents and Attendings
• Explore the Neurosurgery Laboratory and consider becoming involved in a research project or working in the lab over the summer
• Check out the 2nd edition of, "So, You Want To Be A Neurosurgeon"
  This ten page document was created by the organization, Women in Neurosurgery, as a guide for both men and women considering neurosurgery as a career choice. It provides a wealth of information, as well as useful links to other sites.
• The AANS provides excellent resources for medical students, including information on how to join an AANS Medical Student Chapter in your institution, or start one if there is not already one in place! 
  
  

We hope you will find these suggestions helpful and we wish you the best of luck in choosing your career!

The Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair offers the following externship courses:

BCC 8122 - Surgical Aspects of Neurological Disease: Open to USF and visiting students, this sub-internship will be a clinical experience in which the student will work under the supervision of the Residents and Fellows in Neurological Surgery, and the attending neurosurgeons at the College of Medicine. It will be based at Tampa General Hospital. There will be a concentrated experience in the diagnosis and management of neurosurgical illness and active participation in the radiological, clinical, and teaching rounds.

MEL 7881 - Neurosurgical Research: (USF Students only) The student will be exposed to a variety of techniques currently used in neuroscience research.

MEL 9999V - Independent Study in Neurosurgery: (USF Students only) Individually focused neurosurgical study based on student interests under the mentorship of the department program director

DCE Courses are also available to Morsani Students in their 2nd and 3rd years