The economic value of an on-call neurosurgical resident physician

Changing Frequency of the Use of Intraoperative Equipment Among Neurosurgeons, Neurosurgery Residency Faculty, and Neurosurgery Residents

Neurosurgical procedures have relied on the use of various intraoperative equipment since its advent. These include an operative microscope, ultrasound, and loupes with a headlight. The necessity of these pieces of equipment makes them vital in the training of residents as well. A national survey utilizing a Likert scale to determine how often loupes, microscopes, and ultrasound were used for various neurosurgeries was created. This was then compared to a single program’s responses, and it identified that the practice parameters of residents closely modeled those behaviors portrayed by their attending mentors. It appears that the higher frequency of use by residents when compared to faculty and neurosurgeons nationwide highlights the importance of this equipment in training neurosurgical residents. 

As such, they should be available to residents from the onset of training to promote the highest quality of learning. Faculty should encourage the use of this equipment by leading by example, and residents, in turn, should use all the available equipment as often as possible to maximize the quality of their training. Modulating the use of learning technologies can be accomplished if it is a nationally accepted practice, discussed in an academic setting with the residents, and modeled by the faculty.