Neurosurgery Medical Student Program

The Department of Neurosurgery at Baylor College of Medicine offers clinical electives for medical students interested in neurosurgery. Clinical clerkships allow students considering a residency in neurological surgery to assist and learn from faculty and current residents at the following hospitals that are part of the Baylor neurosurgery residency program: Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center, Ben Taub Hospital, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and Texas Children's Hospital. 

The clerkships listed below are available to enrolled students at Baylor College of Medicine.

MENSU-200: Two-Week Elective – This elective is an introduction to clinical neurosurgery. Students will spend two weeks at one of the five teaching hospitals in the Baylor neurosurgery residency program acquainting themselves with the logic of diagnostic investigation and understanding the thought process involved in treatment decisions as well as the basic mechanisms of neurosurgical disease.

MENSU-501: Four-Week Clerkship – This elective is an introduction to clinical neurosurgery. The course features close contact with patients and emphasizes the logic of diagnostic investigation and understanding the thought process involved in treatment decisions as well as the basic mechanisms of neurosurgical disease. Students will have an opportunity to assist residents and faculty as they round on patients, see and work-up new patients and observe surgical procedures. Students will spend two weeks at two of the five teaching hospitals in the Baylor neurosurgery residency program.

The four-week clerkship may serve as the Neurosurgery Sub-Internship. The goal of the neurosurgery sub-internship is to provide an experience that simulates the intern year of the residency program. During this time, medical students make rounds with current residents, accompany surgeons to the operating room, observe consultations and work-up patients for critique by the resident and attending staff. Each student will be able to spend one-on-one time in the clinic with an attending physician, and must complete a neurosurgery clinical checklist, which ensures that every student has a robust educational experience. The sub-I will be responsible for seeing consults and admissions, as well as post-operative patients under the supervision of the team. The sub-I will be in the rotation for day call, along with the senior and junior residents. The sub-I will also cover surgical cases and will be given level-appropriate exposure to surgical procedures. Following each rotation, the student is expected and required to make a short case presentation at the Department of Neurosurgery's weekly Grand Rounds conference.

We offer a four-week clinical elective for visiting students (neurosurgery sub-internship) which is available to fourth-year medical students enrolled and in good standing at any U.S. medical school. Students who are interested in participating as a visiting sub-I should submit applications through the AAMC Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO). Please review Baylor College of Medicine's Institution Overview on VSLO for important information. Currently, applicants can begin browsing elective opportunities. 

Visiting student applications through VSLO are anticipated to be available on Jan. 1, 2025, for the upcoming sub-I cycle. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. If interested in a visiting sub-I, it is recommended that you also reach out to our neurosurgery office via email (margaret.grymes@bcm.edu) in addition to submitting the VSLO application.

Applicants are encouraged to include as much detail as possible regarding their educational achievements (e.g., USMLE scores, CV, clerkship grades, etc.). Please note that our sub-internship is classified under the MENSU-501 elective in VSLO. 

• All students (BCM and visiting) MUST follow the BCM rotation calendar. Students should only apply to blocks for which they know that they will be able to attend the full rotation according to the BCM’s Academic Calendar. No exceptions.
• All visiting medical students are required to attend Visiting Student Orientation on the first day of the clinical elective rotation. No exceptions. This orientation begins promptly at 9 a.m.