Education

A. John Popp, M.D. Neurosurgery Program Director

Message from the Program Director

Welcome

The neurosurgical residency program at Albany Medical Center was started in 1946 by Dr. Eldridge Campbell.  Dr. Campbell trained in neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Medical School under the tutelage of Dr. Walter Dandy and became the Albany region’s first neurosurgeon in 1936.  

Currently, Albany Medical Center is a 651 bed hospital with a busy clinical neurosurgical service headed by Dr. A John Popp. Albany Medical Center created the  Neurosciences Institute (NSI) in December 2000, and  Dr. Popp has been the Director since its inception. The NSI was established to address the myriad of health care needs resulting from disorders affecting the brain, spinal cord and supporting structures by bringing together physicians in various specialties, neurosciences researchers, highly trained nursing staff and cutting edge technology to provide greater continuity of care in a way that provides quality care and convenience for the patient.   Patients of all ages, from newborn to the elderly, are seen and treated. In addition to providing quality patient care, the Neurosciences Institute is committed to education and biomedical research.

The neurosurgical resident training program at Albany Medical Center is approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and is one of the oldest in the country.  This is a six year program.  The first year is comprised of 3 months of neurology, 6 months of neurosurgery and 3 months of structured rotations in general patient care to include rotations in critical care, trauma and other related rotations as determined by the program director. PGY2-6 years are comprised of 48 months of clinical neurosurgery and 12 months of research.  All aspects of neurosurgical practice, including prehospital evaluation, in-hospital assessment and treatment, and post-discharge follow-up, are included in the training program. In the past year, over l700 operative procedures were performed, exposing the resident to the entire spectrum of neurosurgical disorders, including a rotation on endovascular neurosurgery.  All residents take the written examination of the American Board of Neurological Surgery yearly for self-assessment and are required to pass the exam for credit prior to their chief residency year.

The neurosurgery faculty has established robust clinical programs that bring highly specialized care to all aspects of neurosurgery.  New faculty have been recently added in the area of endovascular neurosurgery and stereotactic radiosurgery/brain tumors.  Noteworthy program enhancements have been facilitated by the interdisciplinary approach to diseases fostered by the Neurosciences Institute at AMC and include the following:

• Cerebrovascular/Endovascular  Surgery
• Neuro-Oncology
• Pediatric Neurosurgery
• Skull-Base Surgery
• Stereotactic radiosurgery
• Minimally invasive spine surgery
• Complex Spine Surgery
• Epilepsy monitoring unit and epilepsy surgery
• Neural trauma