What is NeuroRounds?

NeuroRounds is a place to learn how physicians think.

Our live discussions and growing video Library bring together medical students, residents, physicians, faculty and other healthcare professionals to explore real clinical cases, real patients and the decisions that arise in actual practice.

You'll encounter imaging, symptoms, differential diagnoses, treatment decisions, complications, unexpected findings and sometimes cases where the answer isn't immediately obvious.

That's the point.

Medicine isn't practiced at the end of a textbook chapter where all the relevant information has been conveniently assembled for you.

How is NeuroRounds different from textbook learning?

Textbooks are essential. They teach anatomy, pathology, diagnostic criteria, treatment options and the accumulated knowledge of medicine.

But a patient doesn't arrive with the relevant chapter attached.

A real case presents information that may be incomplete, ambiguous or even misleading. The challenge is deciding:

**What matters? What doesn't? What should I be thinking about? What would I do next? Why?

NeuroRounds complements traditional learning by letting you watch experienced physicians work through those questions in the context of actual cases.

The objective isn't simply knowing more facts.

It's learning what to do with them.

What do you mean by “Real Cases. Real Patients.”?

We mean that the discussion begins with clinical reality rather than a carefully constructed textbook example.

A real patient may not present exactly as expected. Imaging may raise more than one possibility. An initial diagnosis may prove incomplete. Different physicians may reasonably approach the same problem differently.

Those complexities are not distractions from medical learning.

**They are medical learning.

NeuroRounds gives learners an opportunity to see how experienced clinicians recognize important information, develop a differential, challenge assumptions and move toward a clinical decision.

Will NeuroRounds help me when an attending starts asking questions?

We think so; and not because we can predict every question an attending might ask.

Medical students sometimes jokingly call intense questioning on rounds being “pimped.” At its best, however, clinical questioning isn't a trivia contest. An attending is often trying to discover whether you can take what you've learned and apply it to the patient in front of you.

*What do you see?*

*What does that finding suggest?*

*What else could it be?*

*What would you do next?*

*Why?*

Those are exactly the muscles that case-based discussion exercises.

NeuroRounds lets you practice thinking through clinical problems before you're the person standing there being asked the question.

Why not just memorize the answer?

Because in clinical medicine, knowing the answer and recognizing the problem are not the same skill.

It's relatively easy to read a diagnosis and then understand why the findings fit.

It's considerably harder to begin with the findings and determine the diagnosis.

Real case discussion reverses the textbook process. Instead of:

**Diagnosis ? findings ? treatment**

you encounter something closer to clinical practice:

**Patient ? information ? interpretation ? differential ? decision**

That requires knowledge, but it also requires clinical reasoning.

NeuroRounds is designed to help develop both.

Do the experts always know the answer immediately?

No. And some of the most useful discussions happen when they don't.

Experienced physicians develop patterns of recognition that can make difficult decisions look almost instantaneous. But medicine also contains uncertainty, competing possibilities and incomplete information.

NeuroRounds gives you an opportunity to hear experts explain what they notice, what concerns them, what possibilities they are considering and what additional information they need.

Sometimes understanding **why an expert hesitates** is as educational as hearing the eventual answer.

Is NeuroRounds only for neurosurgeons?

No.

Neurosurgery is at the heart of NeuroRounds, but becoming a good physician involves much more than mastering one specialty.

The NeuroRounds Library includes clinical medicine as well as discussions about training, careers, innovation, mentorship and the art of medicine.

Our primary audience includes pre-medical and medical students, residents, fellows and physicians, but anyone with a serious interest in medicine is welcome.

Do I have to attend live?

No.

NeuroRounds includes both live programs and an expanding searchable Library of recorded discussions.

The Library is designed to let you explore a subject when you need it—whether you're trying to understand a condition, preparing for a rotation, reviewing something you encountered clinically, or simply trying to become better prepared for the next question.

Some programs may offer CME or other credit for eligible live participants. Any eligibility requirements will be identified for the individual program.

Can I ask questions during a live NeuroRounds session?

Yes. That's an important part of NeuroRounds.

Medicine is learned through questions—not only answering them, but learning which questions to ask.

You don't need to arrive knowing everything.

You need to arrive prepared to think.

Is NeuroRounds medical advice?

No.

NeuroRounds is intended for learning and professional development. Content presented through NeuroRounds is not a substitute for professional medical judgment, diagnosis or treatment and should not be interpreted as medical advice for any individual patient.

What should I expect to get from NeuroRounds?

Not a replacement for medical school. Not a replacement for textbooks. And not a collection of answers to memorize.

Something different.

**Exposure to the way experienced physicians approach real problems.**

Watch enough cases and certain questions begin to become habits:

*What am I looking at?*

*What doesn't fit?*

*What else could explain this?*

*What information am I missing?*

*What would change my decision?*

*What happens next?*