Residency Program

The Department of Neurological Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital builds on a storied history – in the late 19th century, W.W. Keen performed the first successful brain tumor resection here at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College (known then as the Jefferson Medical College) – and now is one of the leading neurosurgical centers in the country. The neurosurgery residency training program at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital prides itself in training excellent academic and clinical neurosurgeons, by offering residents a broad exposure to a large and diverse number of operative procedures spanning the breadth of neurosurgery.

Our program is an operative program. Residents are encouraged to get to the operating room early and often during their training. Given our busy operative case volume, residents are exposed to a wide range of complex cases, and come out of training with a high-level of surgical expertise. Our graduates have gone on to pursue highly-coveted fellowship training and faculty positions across the country. Our graduates come out of residency training fully equipped in their operative abilities, and feel comfortable going out directly into independent clinical practice in community or private practice. There is no doubt that training at Jefferson will afford you the opportunity to become a skilled and successful neurosurgeon.

Our department has also been successful in promoting research pursuits and scholarly activity; commitment to research offers our residents exposure to academic and scientific principles that will help define the future of neurosurgery. Residents are afforded their PGY-5 year to pursue research projects, and many of our residents produce publications throughout the course of their residency. In a recent publication in the journal Neurosurgery, Jefferson was ranked the #1 most academically productive residency program in the country.

The current resident cohort is a tight-knit group, and the level of camaraderie amongst them is second to none. It is a personal source of pride for us to see our residents treat each other like family, with senior residents providing personal and professional mentorship to juniors, facilitating both their personal and professional growth.

Our training program is both rigorous and rewarding. We are seeking highly-qualified applicants who are eager, hard-working and self-motivated to become excellent surgeons and future leaders in the field. We thank you for your interest in our program, and look forward to getting to know you.

Christopher J. Farrell, MD
Residency Program Director