Advocacy to Government and Stakeholders.

Participation in the health care and government advocacy arena may represent new and challenging perspectives for the traditional neurosurgeon. However, those with a strong understanding of the laws, rules, regulations, and fiscal allocation process can directly influence the practice of neurosurgery in the United States. We seek to shine light on the black box of how health care laws are passed, the influence and techniques of lobbying, and the role and rules surrounding political action committees.

Assessment of burnout prevention and wellness programs for US-based neurosurgical faculty and residents: a systematic review of the literature.

Objective: Neurosurgeon burnout is a serious and prevalent issue that has been shown to impact professionalism, physician health, and patient outcomes. Interventions targeting physician burnout primarily focus on improving physician wellness. Many academic neurosurgery programs have established wellness curricula to combat burnout and improve wellness.

Geospatial Distribution of Neurosurgeons Age 60 and Older Relative to the Spread of COVID-19.

Objective: To perform an ecological study to analyze the geospatial distribution of neurosurgeons ≥60 years old and compare these data with the spread of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) across the United States.

Methods: Data regarding distribution of COVID-19 cases were collected from the Environmental Systems Research Institute, and demographic statistics were collected from the American Association of Medical Colleges 2019 State Workforce Reports. These figures were analyzed using geospatial mapping software.