Prospective neurosurgeons first complete undergraduate education and then begin medical school before they can begin specializing in neurosurgery. While progressing through medical school, students apply for residency programs with highly ranked neurosurgery programs through the National Residency Matching Program, a nonprofit organization that maintains fairness in residency selection processes by matching applicants’ individual neurosurgery program preferences with neurosurgery programs with available training positions. Because the NRMP uses a unique algorithm for calculating which candidates are the best fit for individual programs, what is considered best for one student might not necessarily be the best for another.
Johns Hopkins University’s department of Neurology and Neurosurgery offers extensive training options for prospective neurosurgeons. The residency program includes several surgical rotations emphasizing trauma care, care management and neurocritical care medicine. Research topics include brain tumor treatment, chronic pain management and hydrocephalus treatment. Residents complete the bulk of their residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, a hospital ranking first in the nation among all specializing in neurology. With a student-to-faculty ratio of less than 6-to-1, “U.S. News & World Report” also ranks JHU’s medical school as the third best research university in the nation and reports that neurological surgery is one of the school’s most popular residency programs. "Washington Monthly" lists JHU as the 34th best university in the country, due to the school's high graduation rate, quality of faculty and total research expenditures.
Harvard University’s Medical School’s medical research ranks first in the nation when compared to all other medical schools, according to “U.S. News & World Report.” With greater than 12,000 medical school faculty, students benefit from a student-to-faculty ratio of approximately 13-to-1. In conjunction with the Massachusetts General Hospital, a hospital ranking fourth in the nation for neurosurgery, the school’s neurosurgery residency and fellowship programs prepare neurosurgeons for leadership roles in advancing research through involvement in a variety of neurosurgery cases, according to MGH. Research topics include cerebral blood vessels, neural growth and regeneration, brain tumors and neurophysiology. "Washington Monthly" ranks HU eighth overall among all national universities because of its relatively low tuition rate, high graduation rate, quality of graduate programs and research expenditures.
Minnesota’s Mayo Clinic Medical School offers a seven-year neurologic surgery residency program encompassing surgical training and academic instruction. Residents participate in daily one-hour teaching conferences, focusing on neurosurgical interests such as neuroradiology and neuro-oncology. Residents work with supervising faculty to improve performance and set career goals, as well as participating in patient diagnosis, treatment and neurological care. They also complete clinical rotations in the MC’s Florida and Arizona campuses. Mayo Clinic works with residents to tailor a training curriculum with individual career goals and interests and assists with career placement. “U.S. News & World Report” ranks Mayo Clinic as the second best neurosurgical hospital in the country. The Mayo Clinic's Medical School is unique because financial aid is given to 100 percent of students, as The Princeton Review reports.