Robert L. Martuza, M.D., Chief

The goal of the residency training program at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) is to train neurosurgeons who will become leaders in academic neurosurgery. The program has a long and proud tradition of training surgeons who have made major clinical and scientific contributions to the field of neurosurgery. More recently, the program has undergone a significant expansion with appointment of new faculty members and the planned move in to new operative suites and patient units in the B3C, with a doubling of the department’s laboratory space. The program is dynamic, growing, and strongly positioned to continue this tradition of leadership into the 21st century.

The philosophy of the program is to expose residents to a large number of high-quality cases spanning the entire range of neurosurgery. The Massachusetts General Hospital is a tertiary referral center for the entire New England area as well as for many parts of the United States and the world. Accordingly, the program benefits from access to an excellent variety and quantity of cases. As training progresses, residents gain more responsibility in performing surgery and in managing cases. This process reaches its culmination when the trainee becomes a full attending of the North service at the MGH for a six-month period at the end of the program. During this period the North attending has full admitting and operating privileges and runs his or her own service with the support of the faculty.

In addition to excellent clinical training, the program also has a strong emphasis on research. Residents spend two years in a laboratory of their choice as part of the residency training. The research opportunities in the Boston area are unrivaled and include the MGH (the largest recipient of NIH funding among US hospitals), Harvard Medical School, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The MGH residents have historically been extremely productive during this research period and many have converted their research experience into successful scientific and academic careers.

The program is designed to allow residents to concentrate on neurosurgery and to still have time for personal growth. The hospital has excellent ancillary staff in nursing, hematology, radiology, and other services so that residents can focus their energies. In addition, we have a dedicated seventeen-bed Neuroscience ICU that is staffed continuously. Finally, there is a tradition in the program of respect and camaraderie among the residents, and between the residents and staff which leads to an exceptionally supportive and stimulating educational environment. The combination of excellent clinical training, superb research, and the many outstanding opportunities available at the MGH allows graduating residents to successfully pursue the career track of their choice.