Neurosurgery Residency at the University of North Carolina

Congratulations on your decision to enter into the Neurosurgery Match. You will find Neurosurgery to be an exciting career, and successful training is an important first step. Our program’s goals include training residents to be competent and well-rounded neurosurgeons, preparing them to accept positions that are the most desirable for their intended career paths and to achieve this in an atmosphere in which learning and education are highly valued.

Here are some significant features of our program that we would like every candidate to know.

• Since 2010, we have matched two residents per year into our program and we plan to do this each year going forward.
• In September, we welcomed Dr. Deb Bhowmick to our faculty. Dr. Bhowmick completed his spine surgery fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic.
• In December, we welcomed Dr. Scott W. Elton as the newest member of our faculty. Dr. Elton will lead the Pediatric Practice.
• Our expanded Epilepsy Monitoring Units recently opened. We now have two five-bed units; one in the Children’s Hospital and one on the Neurology/Neurosurgery floor.
• Our state-of-the-art Simulation and Skull Base Surgery Lab opened in December. This joint undertaking, with the Departments of Otolaryngology and Ophthalmology, will provide us with the opportunity to develop and teach technical skills in a beautiful new facility that has capabilities for both simulation and cadaver dissection.
• The Hospital and the Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery partnered to create the Neurosciences ICU. This is a 16-bed unit that typically runs at full capacity and is staffed 24/7 by our NeuroCritical Care team with whom we work very closely. All of our residents rotate through this service.
• In January 2011, UNC Healthcare opened a new Spine Center two miles from the main Hospital. It houses a multidisciplinary spine practice with members from Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R), Anesthesiology Pain Management, and Physical Therapy (PT). The first floor of the building houses MRI, CT, plain X-ray, and procedure rooms. This facility is a great addition to our spine program.
• In the last year, UNC has joined three national neuro-oncology consortia. These include the newly formed Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, the CERN Foundation (Collaborative Ependymoma Research Network), and the Brain Tumor Trials Collaborative (BTTC). These efforts will bring us more clinical trials and an opportunity to participate more actively in national clinical research in neuro-oncology.
• Chapel Hill is widely regarded as one of the nicest places in America to live. Chapel Hill is a college town located within the Triangle metropolitan area which has a population of about 1.25 million. The University provides a number of activities ranging from athletic events to arts and music.

We hope that you will strongly consider our program. We believe the residents that we train are having outstanding success in their careers and have received a solid foundation of neurosurgical training. We look forward to meeting with you, and we wish you good luck in the Match.

Best wishes,