Carilion Clinic- Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine Program

Program Identity & Fit

This is a small, academically intensive university-affiliated neurosurgery program (one to two residents per year) built around Carilion Clinic's partnership with Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, and the Virginia Tech School of Neurosciences, with additional rotations at the University of Virginia. The program covers the full breadth of subspecialties (complex spine, endovascular, functional/epilepsy, neuro-oncology, pediatric, peripheral nerve, skull base) and structures training around a dedicated PGY4 research year individualized to each resident's subspecialty and fellowship trajectory. Distinctive features include an international global neurosurgery collaboration in Nepal involving resident participation in surgical workshops and cadaver labs, explicit expectations that residents aggressively pursue self-study and research beyond clinical hours, and a rigorous, high-volume operative curriculum (roughly 200 cases by end of PGY2). The program explicitly selects for adaptive and emotional intelligence, self-directed intellectual curiosity, teaching engagement, and wellness advocacy rather than class rank or board scores alone.