Description and assessment of a neurosurgery shadowing and research program: A paradigm for early and sustained exposure to academic neurosurgery

Objective: To describe and assess the educational value of a functional neurosurgery clinical shadowing and research tutorial for pre-medical trainees. Design: Program participants observed functional neurosurgery procedures and conducted basic science and clinical research in neurosurgery fields. Former participants completed a brief online survey to evaluate their perspectives and experiences throughout the tutorial. Setting: Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. Participants: 15 pre-medical and post-baccalaureate trainees participated in the tutorial. All former tutorial participants were emailed. Results: 11/15 former participants responded to the survey. Survey results suggest that the tutorial program increased participants' understanding of and interest in neurosurgery and related fields in neuroscience. Conclusions: The functional neurosurgery medical tutorial provides valuable clinical and research exposure in neurosurgery fields for pre-medical trainees. Our work is a preliminary step in addressing the crucial challenge of training the next generation of neurosurgeon-scientists by providing a pedagogical paradigm for development of formal experiences that integrate original scientific research with clinical neurosurgery exposure.