This week marks the advent of the annual meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. From April 29 to May 2, 2022, neurosurgeons will convene in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to mark the culmination of President Regis Haid’s year of leadership. The conference, with a theme of “The Culture of Neurosurgery,” features luminaries from the worlds of music, journalism, art, and science.
AANS Neurosurgeon will broadly echo and interpret this theme over the next two months. Our colleagues discuss their extra-neurosurgical passions including music and art. Neurological surgery has a history of its practitioners being innovators and adopters of new technologies; this non-linear thinking is what has propelled the field forwards. Several contributors detail their forays into adjunct disciplines to advance the practice of neurosurgery.
While the principles and practice of neurosurgery are the same throughout the world, each surgeon’s practice is tempered by the socio-economic, political, and cultural environment they inhabit. For an academic department, the culture of neurosurgery is propagated by its faculty; this message is passed down to the trainees and students. What is the culture of neurosurgery? It is one of equipoise and calm in the face of uncertainty. It is one of empathy in the face of catastrophe. It is the neurosurgeon who is uniquely privileged and understands the mechanisms by which we retain our humanity- i.e. our ability to comprehend, express, and mobilize ourselves. Ours is a small field; we recognize the common culture that binds us and makes us more similar than dissimilar. Through culture, music, art, literature, human beings have expressed their uniqueness and realized their common humanity. Hope you enjoy exploring the culture of neurosurgery!
