How to Apply to Residency: The Do's and Don'ts

Friday, April 25, 2025

8:00 AM - 11:30 AM EDT

Location: 257AB

Moderator(s)

David Dornbos, III, MD, FAANS

Assistant Professor
University of Kentucky
Michael McDowell, MD, FAANS

Associate Professor
Penn State University Department of Neurosurgery

Aimed to assist medical students interested in applying to a neurosurgical residency program. Facilitators present the essentials in the application process and discuss specific attributes that program directors, residents and faculty associates with a successful neurosurgery resident. The topics include research as a medical student, taking time off, foreign applicants, women applicants, neurosurgery mentorship and shadowing. Panels of both successful neurosurgery residents and neurosurgical department leaders (chairs, program directors) present their “do’s and don’ts” for sub-internships, interviews and their optimal residency candidates. A comprehensive review of resources available to assist medical students in the application process and during residency is presented.

Learning Objectives:

Identify key attributes for success in a neurosurgical residency applicant.
Prepare for the neurosurgical application process from the written application to the interview.
Discuss a variety of medical student paths for applying to neurosurgery (including research years, foreign medical students, women in neurosurgery).
Summarize the available resources of the AANS to assist medical students, including mentorship and ways to get involved with the AANS.

Presentations:

8:00 AM - 8:04 AM EDT

Introduction
Speaker: Michael M. McDowell, MD, FAANS – Penn State University Department of Neurosurgery
8:05 AM - 8:14 AM EDT

How to Choose a Sub-I
Speaker: Justiss A. Kallos, MD – Memorial Sloan Kettering
8:15 AM - 8:24 AM EDT

How to Choose a Residency
Speaker: Stavropoula Tjoumakaris, MD MBA FAANS FACS FAHA – Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
8:25 AM - 8:34 AM EDT

The Interview Day
Speaker: Andrew W. Grande, MD – Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
8:35 AM - 8:44 AM EDT

Professionalism & the Interview Trail
Speaker: Carolyn Quinsey, MD – University of Missouri Department of Neurosurgery
8:45 AM - 8:54 AM EDT

Leveraging Research for Your Application
Speaker: Shahid Nimjee, MD, PhD, FAANS – The Ohio State University Medical Center
8:55 AM - 9:09 AM EDT

Key Attributes of the Successful Med Student/Resident
Speaker: Adam S. Arthur, MD, MPH – UTHSC, Semmes-Murphey Clinic
9:10 AM - 9:29 AM EDT

Panel #1
9:30 AM - 9:39 AM EDT

Break
9:40 AM - 9:49 AM EDT

Early in the Game: Tips for M1/2s
Speaker: Nitin Agarwal, MD – University of Pittsburgh Department of Neurosurgery
9:50 AM - 9:59 AM EDT

Late to the Game: How to Overcome Weaknesses
Speaker: Nicolas K. Khattar, MD – Semmes-Murphey Clinic
Speaker: Ricardo J. Fernandez-de Thomas, MD – University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC)
10:00 AM - 10:09 AM EDT

Research Time: Off?
Speaker: Debraj Mukherjee, MD, MPH, FAANS – Johns Hopkins Medicine
10:10 AM - 10:19 AM EDT

Research Time: Or Not?
Speaker: Brian M. Howard, MD – Emory University School of Medicine
10:20 AM - 10:29 AM EDT

Applying as a Woman in Neurosurgery
Speaker: Laura McGuire, MD – University of Wisconsin - Madison
10:30 AM - 10:39 AM EDT

What to Put on Your Application (and What Not to)
Speaker: Michael Ivan, MD, MBS – University of Miami
Speaker: Hussam Abou-Al-Shaar, MD – University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
10:40 AM - 10:49 AM EDT

Understanding Program Strengths and Weaknesses
Speaker: Angela M. Richardson, MD, PhD – Indiana University School of Medicine, Indiana University Health
10:50 AM - 10:59 AM EDT

Choosing Sub-I’s & Interviewing the Programs
Speaker: Christopher S. Graffeo, MD MS – University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
11:00 AM - 11:09 AM EDT

The Importance of Choosing the Away Rotations
Speaker: David Dornbos, III, MD, FAANS – University of Kentucky
11:10 AM - 11:30 AM EDT

Panel #2/Wrap Up