Neurosurgery Residency

The Carilion Clinic-Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine Neurosurgery Residency is an intensive training program with a heavy emphasis on surgical decision-making, critical medical thinking, neuroscience research, wellness, and resilience building, teaching, and hands-on surgical experience. Rigorous conference and lecture schedules are backed by extensive textbook and medical journal reading assignments, as well as abundant high-level research opportunities. 

In 2006, Carilion Clinic took a bold step in its academic mission of training the physician specialists of the future by launching a Neurosurgery Residency training program. The training program has rapidly expanded and flourished. It is intimately involved with VTCSOM, the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion (VTC), the Virginia Tech School of Neurosciences and the Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Originally, VTCSOM Neurosurgery Residency trained graduates of osteopathic medical schools. In 2017, the program acquired ACGME initial accreditation, opening up training opportunities for graduates of both allopathic (M.D.) and osteopathic (D.O.) medical schools. Additionally, in 2019, our program acquired ACGME continued accreditation without any citations. 

Positions in the training program are extremely competitive as it continues to grow and gain renown. Top medical students from across the country vie for the position. Currently, only one applicant is accepted per year. It is anticipated that by 2025, two applicants will be accepted per year.

Department Specs

Mission Statement

The Neurosurgery program is dedicated to providing the highest quality care and achieving the best outcomes for patients with disorders of the brain, spine and peripheral nerves. Our mission is to:

• Provide patients with compassionate, state-of-the-art neurosurgical care
• Educate and train highly qualified medical students, residents, and fellows
• Advance neuroscience knowledge through innovative basic, clinical and translational research endeavors

Program Aims

Our goal is to produce well rounded, critically thinking, ethical, balanced, adaptable, collaborative and technically skilled neurosurgeons. Our graduates are comfortable with the vast majority of neurosurgical procedures and constantly seek to improve their own clinical acumen and meaningfully contribute to the advancement of the discipline. Our graduates are considered highly competitive for positions in all subspecialty fellowships or type of practice and will:

• Keenly follow their own outcomes and know how to align them with discipline standards, evidence-based practices and specialty guidelines
• Assume leadership roles in collaborative, multidisciplinary patient care teams
• Contribute to their chosen professional specialty and subspecialty organizations
• Contribute to the better good of their communities through exceptional delivery of value-based health care to those in need
• Monitor and attend to their own emotional and physical well-being in order to remain effective caregivers

Subspecialties

• Complex spinal surgery
• Endovascular neurosurgery
• Epilepsy surgery
• Functional surgery
• Neurotrauma/CC
• Neuro-oncology
• Pediatric surgery
• Peripheral nerve surgery
• Skull base surgery
• Stereotactic neurosurgery

Program Size

• 10 fellowship-trained neurosurgeons
• 7 resident neurosurgeons
• 11 mid-level providers
• 30+ office staff members in the neurosurgical ambulatory practice who play an integral part in patient coordination, education and throughout
   

Teaching Opportunities

• Virginia Tech School of Neurosciences

Academic Affiliation

• Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
• University of Virginia
• Virginia Tech School of Neurosciences
• Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences
• Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine