Education

Our program is a seven-year neurosurgical resident education program, dedicated to the clinical, surgical and professional development of our residents. Beginning with a neurosurgical internship, and culminating in the Chief Residency year, our trainees participate in a contemporary neurosciences educational paradigm and enjoy a graduated level of experience and responsibility in the care and management of neurosurgical patients. Graduates of our program pursue fellowships, academic neurosurgical junior faculty positions and private practice opportunities in neurological surgery throughout the country.
 
In addition to providing superior technical training, our program is uniquely structured to the professional development of our residents – with the goal of creating leaders in the field of neurosurgery.  Through our Clinical Research Office, our residents receive formalized training in evidence-based medicine and clinical outcomes research techniques.

Competency-Centered Curriculum

The University of Alabama at Birmingham is one of the top-ranked neurosurgery residency training programs in the United States with a formalized, structured curriculum centered upon the six ACGME core competencies outlined/defined by the ACGME and the seven major sub-specialty areas within neurosurgery.  Each resident receives a copy of the UAB Division of Neurosurgery Resident Handbook and Curriculum Guide both as a working binder and an electronic teaching tool.  This valuable resource contains a detailed description of the neurosurgery curriculum on each and every topic specific to each level of training (junior level resident, intermediate level, and senior level resident).  We utilize didactic teaching, self-directed learning, computer-based education, anatomic cadaveric dissection, and apprentice experiences to enrich each resident’s educational experience.

Medical Evidence-Based Curriculum

Formalized didactic training in interpretation of medical evidence is directly incorporated into the resident curriculum at the University of Alabama.  Dr. Beverly Walters, MD, MSc, FRCSC, FACS coordinates this initiative and conducts a monthly Medical Evidence Conference and a resident-led Journal Club.  The purpose of this initiative is to teach the resident-in-training how to systematically and critically appraise scientific papers in the medical literature with regard to study design, bias, validation of assessment, common types of errors, and introductory statistical assessment.  The residents are introduced to these concepts through a standardized curriculum.  The residents then use these concepts to direct our monthly journal clubs according to contemporary standards of evidence-based medicine.

Evidence-Based Medicine: Development of Clinical Guidelines

Drs. Mark N. Hadley, Beverly C. Walters, and other faculty members including Dr. Mark Harrigan and Dr. Curtis Rozzelle within the Division of Neurosurgery have published multiple compilations of medical evidence-based guidelines for neurosurgical disorders.  The guidelines were developed with the support of the joint Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

Hadley MN, Walters, BC, Aarabi B, Dhall SS, Gelb DE, Harrigan MR, Hurlbert RJ, Rozzelle CJ, Ryken TC, Theodore N. Guidelines for the Management of Acute Cervical Spine and Spinal Cord Injuries, 2013 Revision.  Neurosurgery 72:3(Supplement), 1-259, 2013.

Resnick DK, Choudheri TF, Dailey AT, Groff MW, Khoo L, Matz PG, Mummaneni P, Watters WC III, Wang J, Walters BC, Hadley MN. Guidelines for the Performance of Fusion Procedures for Degenerative Disease of the Lumbar Spine. J Neurosurg: Spine 2:636-759, 2005.

Hadley MN, Walters BC, Grabb, PA, Oyesiku NM, Przybylski, GJ, Resnick DK, Ryken TC. Guidelines for the Management of Acute Cervical Spine and Spinal Cord Injuries. Neurosurg, (Supplement), S1 – S178, 2002.

Harrigan MR, Deveikis JP, Ardelt AA. Handbook of Cerebrovascular Disease and Neurointerventional Technique. Humana Press (Springer), New York, NY. 2009.