Training & Education
The Department of Neurological Surgery offers unparalleled training for the next generation of neurological surgeons.
The Department of Neurological Surgery seeks to provide quality education and training to all candidates who wish to further their knowledge in the area of neurosurgery. Available programs include the Neurological Surgery Residency Program and Grand Rounds. Our residency cohort was recently expanded to 3 positions per year.
The department offers an outstanding residency program. Residents gain experience at three USC-affiliated hospitals: Los Angeles General Medical Center, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Keck Hospital of USC. Residents are guided by an exceptional faculty, which has grown tremendously over the past five years. The department’s clinical volume is in excess of 3,000 cases. Many of the alumni from the training program now hold academic appointments in some of the most prestigious neurosurgical departments in the country.
The neurosurgical training program at the Keck School of Medicine has an educational laboratory for further development and practice of psychomotor surgical skills, especially as they relate to cranial base surgery and complex spinal surgery. The laboratory is on site at Los Angeles General Medical Center and is fully equipped with an operating room microscope, video camera, sophisticated surgical instrumentation and an environmentally appropriate work space for the use of preserved cadaveric materials.
Inquiries about the program can be made to the program coordinator, Kathy Guzman, via email at kguzman@usc.edu.
Training Hospitals
Los Angeles General Medical Center
Keck Hospital of USC
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Clerkship Program
Fourth-year medical students are welcome to apply for a visiting clerkship through the Visiting Student Application Service (VSAS) beginning March 1 each year. Applicants must include scores from Part I and Part II (if taken) from the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE), transcripts and CV. After a Keck School of Medicine of USC selection process, applications will be approved beginning April 1.
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Residency Program
While training with the Department of Neurological Surgery, residents are exposed to a diverse patient population at multiple sites across Los Angeles. Residents gain extensive experience with a broad array of disorders and surgical techniques. The department’s clinical volume, in excess of 3,000 cases, ranks as one of the five largest programs in the United States.
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