Improving Resident Education in Neurosurgery
To design a state-of-the-art, total capability, neuroanatomy skills labs for local and regional education, product testing, & device development.
- Cranial and Spine Lab:
- Six mobile cranial stations with built-in Mayfield clamp system, mounted operative microscopes, suction and shallow sinks. Each station will have the full complement of drills, retractors, and micro-instruments/rhoton sets as well as outlets to attach any new surgical devices being tested. There will be a master cranial station with stand-alone microscope and video input to large screen TV.
- Four mobile full length operative spine tables with a dedicated C- arm for each as well as the full complement of drills and equipment for any spine procedure.
- Storage space for larger devices and active cadaveric projects.
- Main storage space for equipment and instruments.
Resident Perspective on Neuroantomy Skills Lab
A surgical skills lab will be a tremendous asset to resident education. The hands-on experience with anatomy is the only thing comparable to real surgery but without any of the risks. Specifically, the resident:
- Can simulate the entire procedure from beginning to end in order to plan for the OR including patient positioning, special tools needed, operative corridors for the microscope, and degree of dissection needed for instrumentation.
- Can dissect the surrounding anatomy to better understand the procedure.
Can experiment with parts of the procedure as done by different attendings.- Has multiple passes for a critical part of the procedure to fine-tune microsurgical and instrumentation skills and understand pitfalls.
This will allow the resident to be more confident, knowledgeable, safer and quicker in the operating room. The skills lab will build loyalty to the institution and comradery amongst the residents as these labs are often done in pairs and residents work as a team to accomplish the goal of the surgery.