What does the Associate Director role involve, and how do you support residents throughout their training?
As the Associate Program Director, I will work closely Dr. Hervey-Jumper and Dr. Jacques to help with management of the neurosurgery residency. This will include ensuring that residents are achieving their academic goals in training, ensuring that case requirements are met, and ensuring that we are providing a comprehensive training experience that will prepare our residents for whatever area of neurosurgery they would like to go into. In addition to the usual mentorship that happens in the OR and on clinical projects, I will be helping to ensure that the PGY1s are prepared for their next steps in training as a PGY2 with HEAD pager. I am always available to meet with residents to discuss their training and future career goals.
How would you describe your educational philosophy when it comes to training neurosurgery residents?
I believe that neurosurgical training takes time and a consistent level of dedication over the course of 7-years. Often residents make progress in a non-discreet, non-linear fashion both with regards to their operative performance and clinical knowledge. Successful training is not just about learning how to do surgery but also how to interact with patients and how to set a standard for high-level of care. I also believe that not all residents learn in the same manner and each will have particular strengths. It is our job as educators to make sure they achieve their goals and ensure that a high level of clinical excellence is maintained.
Residency training is evolving rapidly—how do you see neurosurgical education changing today, particularly in the era of AI and new technologies?
Residents today have many additional avenues for learning including access to operative videos, three-dimensional anatomy models, virtual reality simulators, and online resources that provide for more interactive educational experiences outside the standard learning that takes place in the OR. AI platforms can serve as faster and more direct resources to learn about a clinical scenario and can provide references in the medical literature in a more streamlined manner. However, these platforms remain tools for learning and have not replaced the need for clinicians and neurosurgeons. At the end of the day, I still believe that hard work, being thorough, and applying an evidence-based clinical judgement to a given patient is what makes a strong clinician/resident.
As an alum of this program, what is a favorite memory from your residency, or what did training here mean to you personally?
I really enjoyed a lot of aspects of my training but my favorite years of training were my PGY6 and PGY7 years. I really felt that at UCSF I could get exposure to complex cranial and skull base cases which was an area I wanted to focus on, and I had the time to really learn the technical nuances of these complex approaches. I also saw the most growth as a surgeon during this period, and it was nice to see thing culminate during that time after putting in all the hard work over the years. This training program allowed me to take care of patients and complex diseases. I am forever grateful and now have the opportunity to give back in a meaningful way to the residents to help them reach this as well.
What do you think completing residency at UCSF signals to future colleagues, employers, and the broader neurosurgical community?
This is a truly exceptional program. The rigor of the training, the wide exposure to the breadth of neurosurgery subspecialties, the experience of working in different practice settings in training, and the complexity in cases that residents have to manage ensures that our residents will be ready for any job. This is demonstrated by the success of our prior graduates and contributions that they have made to the neurosurgical community as leaders and excellent clinicians.
What do you think our chances are in the softball tournament this year?
Excellent - we have already built a cabinet in the Rosegay to house the trophy when it gets brought back to UCSF in June.