Recent content by kitsunepixie

Look up TLIC score

The children's hospital where I am at, Neurosurgery is consult only and we admit to either Pediatrics or more commonly, to PICU. That is how the hospital was set up and after being opened, it has since started a pediatric residency (still no neurosurgery residents yet) and the residents are...

I'd recommend checking out PMR. They do some simple procedures (botox, etc.) and there is definitely the patient-doctor relationship that you want.

It may be interesting then from an Internist perspective but bread and butter for neurosurgeons. Maybe a presentation aimed at Internists would be useful for building your CV

What is it that is particularly interesting about these cases? Is your director a neurosurgeon? GBM is one of the most frequently seen brain tumors by neurosurgeons, and there is a ton of literature/research out there, so it would have be very special indeed for publication.

My own 2 cents is that the application gets your foot in the door. Many programs have a minimum board score that you have to surpass before the PD will even review your application. A likable personality can be what makes you shine... So how do they differentiate between students who all have...

Exam skills are definitely important. Neurosurgery boards also love to include Neurology cases. It's important for neurosurgeons be able to recognize a non-surgical neurologic condition from a surgical one. You don't want to take a ring-enhancing lesion to the OR thinking that it's a GBM and...

Don't you guys get excited though when it's a nice juicy disc with cauda equina? I can get the transverse process fracture consults. I just remember the poor trauma residents calling me and being so very apologetic: "we know you're busy; our attending is making us consult you." ;)

One of my spine trauma attending's hills he liked to die on was when people said "spinal cord compression" in reference to nerve root or cauda equina compression. He'd get hilariously and dramatically worked up, but somehow not in a mean way.

No, no fellowship needed, unless you want to do scoliosis.

Depends on the program AND the particular rotation. Duty hour violations never happened on the VA rotation, for instance. If the jr residents went over duty hours on any particular rotation, the senior residents/fellows/attendings would get in trouble and the Program Director would threaten to...

You and I must have trained at the same location. I remember a lot of that on my Trauma rotation as an intern. Women also liked to target the scrotum when their men cheated on them. A certain Trauma attending would have trouble stepping into the room and would appear visibly distressed by that...

As for my own experience, the seniors had less or no in house call, which is nice, but if you have to come in to do an emergency case you don't get a post-call day after being up all night operating, so it's a little harder to plan doctor appointments and other errands during the week that way...

I'm peds, but our patients typically get admitted to either ICU or Hospitalist and we consult. It works very well for us. Now, since we started a pediatric residency, the residency is wanting to admit all the other surgical services too.

This is thanks to TV. I don't know how many kids I meet who want to be "an ER surgeon"