Samuel Cheshier, MD, PhD, has started the incredible University of Utah Remote Education in Neurosurgery (UREIN) program that provides neurosurgical mentorship to medical students at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and gives them opportunities to connect with academic mentors in the field of neurosurgery.
The program was created when a local neurosurgeon introduced Dr. Cheshier to a University of Nevada, Las Vegas, medical student who wanted to be a neurosurgeon. Coincidentally, Dr. Cheshier was hosting a different medical student from University of Nevada, Las Vegas in his lab that summer as part of the Huntsman Cancer Institute 5 for the Fight program. “Neurosurgery residency programs are notoriously difficult to get into,” Dr. Cheshier shared. “Students who attend medical schools without a formal department for certain specialties, like neurosurgery, find themselves at a huge disadvantage when they apply for residency without the connections or specialized knowledge that other applicants bring.” That was the guiding principle as Dr. Cheshier began creating the UREIN program. “These were great medical students that I could see needed a home department,” Dr. Cheshier said. “We wanted to provide them and other students with every opportunity to develop a genuine love for the field and gain the necessary experience and mentorship they need to be accepted to a neurosurgery residency program,” Dr. Cheshier said. So, he developed the program in collaboration with these students.
After completing an application process, committed students who are accepted into the program are given access to Department of Neurosurgery Grand Rounds and a faculty mentor. These medical students are able to conduct neurosurgical research alongside their faculty mentor at both the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the University of Utah. The program gives students opportunities to participate in sub-internships and to present their research at Grand Rounds. The faculty mentors also guide students through their residency applications.
“The intent is to provide these students with remote and in-person exposure to the field of neurosurgery on a level similar to that of students attending medical school here at the University of Utah,” Dr. Cheshier said. “Our two universities are part of a similar program for undergraduates (Western Undergraduate Exchange), so it felt like a natural step to apply those same principles of mentoring students and exchanging information on the medical school level.”
Dr. Cheshier brought the idea for the program to William Couldwell, MD, PhD, Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at University of Utah, who wholeheartedly approved of the program. “The work Dr. Cheshier is doing with these students is pivotal, and the program has already been impactful,” Dr. Couldwell shared.
“We’re excited to make a difference for these medical students and to increase the availability of neurosurgical training to these excellent students,” Dr. Cheshier said. “UREIN has been exceptional so far, and we can’t wait to see where it takes us in the future.”