• Zsombor T Gal, Pranav Nanda, Brian Hsueh, Faith C Robertson, Timothy R West, Shahaan S Razak, Mercy H Mazurek, Nicole A Perez, Bryan D Choi, CoumansJean-Valery C EJCEDepartment of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Brigham, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA., Pamela S Jones, Ganesh M Shankar, Christopher J Stapleton, and Brian V Nahed.
• Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Brigham, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
• World Neurosurg. 2024 Oct 21.

ObjectiveStrong performance in neurosurgical sub-internships is a vital component of a successful residency application and requires adequate familiarity with clinical knowledge and technical skills that may not be covered in standard medical school curricula. Accordingly, a need exists for immersive and comprehensive sub-internship preparation programs that respect time and resource limitations, are optimized based on longitudinal student feedback, provide opportunities for mentorship, and foster enthusiasm for neurosurgery. Therefore, residents at a single institution designed and implemented a comprehensive curriculum for a 1-day sub-internship academy.MethodsAcademy curriculum involved hands-on and discussion-based elements split into 3 workshops. Anonymous surveys were conducted immediately following the academy and upon completion of sub-internships to evaluate participant perceptions on the utility of the academy.ResultsTwelve medical students participated in the inaugural neurosurgery sub-internship academy. Nine responded to the immediate postsurvey, which revealed the following ratings: the overall program was rated as having maximal impact on sub-internship readiness and enthusiasm for neurosurgery by 8 (88.9%) and 7 (77.8%) respondents, respectively. A largely positive impact on access to mentorship was observed. Six participants responded to a postsub-internship survey, and all 6 indicated they agreed or strongly agreed that the academy prepared them to perform well.ConclusionsStudent perceptions of the relevance and utility of the sub-internship academy were positive, and the program fostered enthusiasm for neurosurgery and provided opportunities for mentorship. The participants indicated the academy positively impacted their sub-internship performance, and areas for improvement to guide future iterations of the academy were identified.Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.

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