Residency Overview

Our program is a seven-year resident education program, dedicated to the clinical, surgical and professional development of our residents. Beginning with a neurosurgical internship, and culminating in the Chief Residency year, our residents receive a consistent educational program and enjoy a graduated level of experience and responsibility. Graduates of our program pursue fellowships, academic positions and private practice opportunities in neurological surgery.

In addition to superior technical training, our program is uniquely structured to the professional development of our residents - with the goal of creating leaders in the field of neurosurgery. Through our Clinical Research Office, our residents receive formalized training in evidence-based medicine and clinical outcomes research techniques.

Competency-Centered Curriculum

UAB is one of the few neurosurgery residency programs with a formalized, structured curriculum  centered upon the core six ACGME competencies outlined/defined by the ACGME and the seven major supspeciality areas within neurosurgery. Each resident receives a copy of the University of Alabama Neurosurgical Training curriculum as a working binder. This valuable resource contains a detailed description of the neurosurgery curriculum specific to each level of training (junior level resident, intermediate level, and senior level resident). We focus upon didactic teaching, self-directed learning, computer-based education, and apprentice experiences to enrich the resident's educational experience.

Medical Evidence-Based Curriculum

Formalized didactic training in interpretation of  medical evidence is directly incorporated into the resident curriculum at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Beverly Walters coordinates this initiative and conducts a monthly Medical Evidence Conference and Journal Club. The purpose of this initiative is to teach the resident-in-training how to systematically and critically appraise scientific papers within the medical literature with regard to study design, bias, validation of assessment, common types of errors, and introductory statistical assessment.  The residents are introduced to these concepts through a standardized curriculum. The residents then use these concepts to direct our monthly journal clubs according to contemporary standards of evidence-based medicine.

Evidence-Based Medicine: Development of Clinical Guidelines

Drs. Mark N. Hadley, Beverly C. Walters, and other faculty members within the UAB Division of Neurosurgery have published multiple compilations of medical evidence-based guidelines for neurosurgical disorders.  The guidelines were developed with the support of the Joint Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

Clinical Guidelines Guidelines for the Acute Management of Cervical Spine and Spinal Cord Injuries

City, Family and Camaraderie

Birmingham, AL is a major metropolitan area with a population of 1.2 million people. The city is famous for its culture, dining, and recreation. For our residents, Birmingham offers a dynamic and diverse environment, with affordable and spacious living near the hospital. The area sports numerous outdoor venues, with numerous parks and lakes. Popular activities include golfing, hiking, fishing/camping. Birmingham also hosts a number of social, musical and cultural events - including many night clubs, concert venues, an annual film festival, a crawfish broil, an multiple museums (art, motorsports, civil rights, to name a few). 

The University of Alabama Neurosurgery Residency Program is supportive of residents and their wishes to raise a family. Approximately 50% of our residents are married, with children - many born during residency. Most of our residents own their own homes, and live within 10-20 minutes from the hospital. This allows a suburban lifestyle with only a short daily commute.  Spacious homes, friendly neighborhoods, and good schools make Birmingham an ideal place to live and raise a family.  As a community, Birmingham life is centered around healthy family-based and kid-friendly activities.

The Residency Program enjoys a natural camaraderie amongst the residents. Annually, we compete in the Annual Neurosurgery Charity Softball Tournament held in Central Park, NY each June. Residents participate in numerous social outings, and frequently travel to national meetings (CNS, AANS, SNS, Section Meetings). Previous destinations include San Diego, San Francisco, Puerto Rico, Sea Island,GA , Boca Raton, and Denver. The program is very supportive of academic travel and readily reimburses for presenting at these events . Neurosurgery interns participate in The Society for Neurological surgeons "Bootcamp" each year to accelerate their development of early clinical skills.