Prospective Visiting Medical Students

Downtown Seattle

• Overview of the Visiting Student Clinical Elective Program in Neurological Surgery
• Harborview Medical Center (HMC) Trauma/Spine Service
• Harborview Medical Center (HMC) Vascular/Elective service
• University of Washington Medical Center
• Seattle Children's Hospital
• Contact Information
• Living in Seattle

Visiting Student Elective Program Overview

Visiting students spend two weeks at Harborview Medical Center (HMC): one on the trauma service and one on the vascular service. They also spend one week at the University of Washington Medical Center (UWMC), and one week at Seattle Children's Hospital (SCH). Throughout the rotation, students take call with junior residents at Harborview Medical Center, gaining experience in the management of neurosurgical emergencies at a Level I trauma center. Students are encouraged to give a 10-minute presentation on a topic of clinical or scientific interest during departmental Grand Rounds. This is required if students wish to pursue an honors grade.

To apply to this program: Visit the University of Washington School of Medicine Visiting Student Clinical Elective Program website for visiting medical students and complete all necessary forms.

[to top]

Harborview Medical Center (HMC) Trauma/Spine Service:

Working at one of the busiest Level I trauma centers in the country, the neurosurgeons at Harborview Medical Center care for patients throughout the WWAMI states (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho). With such a large catchment area, the trauma/spine service is constantly treating patients with traumatic brain injury, acute spinal cord injury, and all other facets of neurotrauma.

A typical operative day may include craniotomy for acute subdural or epidural hematoma, lumbar spinal decompression, and complex cervical spine instrumentation. Emergent cases are common. The average patient census for this service ranges from 25-60 years old, with approximately 30-50% in the ICU. The service consists of a chief resident, a mid-level resident, a junior resident, an intern, and nurse practitioners/physician assistants.

Faculty:

• Randall Chesnut, MD,
  Director of Cranial and Spinal Trauma
• Fangyi Zhang, MD

[to top]

Harborview Medical Center (HMC Vascular/Elective service):

HMC is the primary referral center for both emergent and non-emergent vascular neurosurgery in the Pacific Northwest. Patients with both ruptured and unruptured aneurysms, AVMs, and other cerebrovascular pathology are treated on the vascular service. Patients with disease of the skull base, such as neoplasms and congenital anomalies, are also cared for on this service.

A typical operative day may include craniotomy and clipping or endovascular coiling for cerebral aneurysm, complex skull base approach for tumor resection or vascular bypass, and endoscopic neurosurgical procedures. The average patient census for this service ranges from 30-50 years old, with approximately 50-60% in the ICU. The service consists of a chief resident, a mid-level resident, a junior resident, and nurse practitioners/physician assistants.

Faculty:

• Richard Ellenbogen, MD, FACS
  Chairman, Department of Neurosurgery
  Chief of Neurosurgery at HMC
• Laligam Sekhar, MD
  Vice-Chairman, Department of Neurosurgery
  Director of Cerebrovascular Surgery at HMC
• Louis Kim, MD
• Manuel Ferreira, Jr., MD, PhD

[to top]

University of Washington Medical Center (UWMC):

The neurosurgical service at the University of Washington Medical Centertreats a broad scope of neurosurgical patients. The service is primarily elective in nature, and patient disease ranges from neuro-oncology and skull base to minimally invasive spine and functional disorders such as chronic pain and movement disorders. A typical operative day may include awake craniotomy and cortical mapping for tumor resection, microvascular decompression of cranial nerves, minimally invasive spinal decompression or tumor resection, implantation of spinal cord stimulators, and deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease. The average patient census for this service ranges from 5-20 years old, with approximately 15-25% in the ICU. The service consists of a chief resident, a junior resident, and an intern.

Faculty:

• Daniel Silbergeld, MD
  Chief of Neurosurgery at UWMC
  Neuro-oncology
• Robert Rostomily, MD
  Skull base surgery
• Trent Tredway, MD
  Minimally-invasive spinal surgery

[to top]

Seattle Children's Hospital

Seattle Children’s Hospital provides neurosurgical treatment for pediatric disease throughout the WWAMI states, as well as referrals across the country. Disease ranges from tumors, hydrocephalus, and epilepsy surgery to congenital malformations of the brain and spinal cord. A typical operative day may include posterior fossa decompression for Chiari, functional brain mapping for epilepsy, and neuroendoscopy resection of intraventricular tumor. The average patient census for this service ranges from 5-15 years old. The service consists of a chief resident, a senior resident, a pediatric fellow and four nurse practitioners.

Faculty:

• Richard Ellenbogen, MD, FACS
  Chairman, Department of Neurosurgery
  Chief of Neurosurgery at HMC
  Neuroendoscopy, Chiari malformation
• Jeffrey Ojemann, MD
  Chief of Neurosurgery at SCH
  Epilepsy, neuro-oncology, functional brain mapping
• Sam Browd, MD, PhD
  pediatric spinal surgery, hydrocephalus

[to top]

Contact Information

For more information, please contact:

Residency Program Administrator
Department of Neurological Surgery
325 Ninth Avenue
Campus Box 359924
Seattle, WA 98104

Phone: (206) 744-9316
Fax: (206) 744-9944
Email: resns@uw.edu

[to top]

Living in Seattle

The beautiful "Emerald City" of Seattle's eclectic neighborhoods each have their own unique flavor and atmosphere, and it's pristine location offers access to almost any outdoor recreation imaginable. Please follow the link to learn more about life in the beautiful Northwest...

[to top]